Lost and Found
by LoveFangs91
Summary: AU. Jason has gone missing and Sookie is determined to find him but who will she turn to when the humans refuse to do anything? She ends up diving into the bloody world of vampires, but which side does she choose? Light or dark? Blond or brunette? Lemons
1. Missing

**Hello! **

**I'm back from my holiday at last and you'll be pleased to know I did quite a bit of writing during my peace time. I had a blast, lot of writing, got a tan somehow and went horse riding nearly every day on a massive Clydesdale which was painful in the beginning lol. I managed to cross something off of my 'to do before I die' – go galloping across a beach. So, here's my entirely new story, I hope you like and I'll let you read on. **

**Charlaine Harris owns the wonderful Southern Vampire Mysteries**

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"Is Jason there?" I asked for at least the tenth time that evening. The dread that had been a constant factor in my life for the past week was springing to life again and the bats were once again taking flight in my stomach.

"No Sookie, I'm sorry chere. I'll call you if he comes in." Sam replied with honest sympathy down the other end of the phone. I was actually a little amazed that he didn't sound exasperated; I'd been calling a least twice a night, even when I'd been working, to see if my brother was in the bar since he'd disappeared off of the face of the earth a week ago. Now, my brother had gone missing for a few days before, usually when he was holed up somewhere with a new woman. The difference this time was that he hadn't called anyone. Never before had he just gone; he'd always called me and his boss before. The scariest problem for me was that I wasn't entirely sure how long my brother had been missing; I'd noticed a week ago but I hadn't actually spoken to him for ten days. No one else could be entirely sure the last time they'd seen him either.

"Alright, thanks Sam, I'm sorry." I truthfully was sorry for bugging him so much, I just wasn't sorry enough to stop calling, my brother meant too much to me. My grandmother had died just over a year ago which left me with Jason as my only family as I didn't count my Uncle Bartlett, the only other living blood relative.

"Don't worry about it Sook, I know you're worried. I gotta get back to work, but take care of you."

"Thanks again, you're a good friend. I'll see you in a couple of days. Goodbye," I called as cheerfully as I could so that he wouldn't worry as much. Even though I was alone I couldn't stop my bright and tense smile from stretching across my lips, it was the one I usually wore whilst I was working at the bar.

I sighed heavily as I put the phone back on its holster and settled back into the sofa so that I could pull my grandmother's knit blanket closer around my slim shoulders. Night had fallen a couple of hours ago and my house was completely shrouded in darkness now as I hadn't bothered to switch any of the lights on in my home. There was only one more person to call on my list and I really wasn't looking forward to calling them even though I knew they were the most likely source of help. With another sigh I picked up the phone once more.

"Hello, Sherriff's office, Kenya speaking." She sounded bored and I couldn't really blame her; in our little town nothing of note happened on a regular basis, at least not until the drunks started appearing which wouldn't be for another few hours.

"Hi Kenya, any news on Jason?" I asked with a little apprehension, just knowing that I was going to get shouted at. I didn't have to be in the same room as her to simply know.

"No, now Sookie you've got to stop calling us. We'll call _you_ if we have any news. You're wasting police time, especially since Jason's disappearance isn't high importance. Now stop calling!" The phone was rudely put down, rather harshly, on me and I had to fight back the tears that had sprung forward in my eyes.

It was what I'd been hearing for days and I was fed up to the back teeth with it. No one wanted to help because of the person Jason acted like; a complete scoundrel who liked to play the field was merely putting it mildly. No one was willing to help me, of course my friends were supportive but there wasn't anything they could do. Jason's boss wouldn't do anything but call me every day when Jason didn't turn up for work and the police were refusing to do anything. As far as I could tell all they'd done was call up a few places to see if anyone had seen him. They said until he'd been gone a substantial amount of time they were limited because he'd gone off without warning several times before. But by golly, a week was definitely a substantial amount of time, at least in my book.

I resigned myself surprisingly quickly to what I had to do. I didn't have enough money for a private investigator and I'd exhausted everything that I could do on my own. I needed back up and the solution I came up with was one Bill Compton who happened to reside just over the cemetery from me.

Normally, going to a neighbour for help wouldn't have been a strange thing, but you see, my neighbour is a member of the undead. The vampire population had come out of the coffin about two years ago, six months after the big revelation Bon Temps had gotten its first and only resident vampire. It turned out he'd been a citizen here during the war era, the civil war era that is. Vampire Bill as he was affectionately called by the locals was now a regular at Merlotte's so I knew him quite well. I couldn't deny the draw I had to him because I'd discovered that I couldn't read his mind. He'd even asked me on a date a few times, unfortunately my grandmother had died in the time between asking and going, which caused me to of course cancel. After that I hadn't felt like dating, when I did he'd stopped asking. So going to him could prove to be awkward, however, I had no one else left to turn to.

I grabbed my flashlight from the under stairs cupboard, slipped my Wellie's on as well as pulling my old, thick coat around my shoulders before stepping out of the door. The cold air nipped at all of my exposed flesh as I began the trudge across my yard towards the woods. My face was buried as far down as I could manage into the soft collar but my nose still felt like an icicle by the time I reached the cemetery, I didn't even want to know what colour the hand holding my torch had turned. What felt like an hour later due to the sheer lack of heat, even though I knew the walk only took about five minutes, I reached the old Compton house.

My heavy knock seemed to echo around the clearing in which the decayed house stood, all living creatures seemed to avoid vampires on instinct; one of the tell tale signs of a vampire to standard humans was that wild creatures grew silent in their presence. This however, did not give me reason to believe that Bill wasn't inside his home. I barely got a split second's warning by his brain signal before his deep yet rough voice was whispering in my ear.

"Hello Sookie." I still jumped, my conscious mind not having had enough time to process all the information.

"Bill! Don't do that!" I snapped as I whirled around to face him. As per usual he was dressed in khaki trousers with a long sleeved dark blue shirt on top, in recognition that it was winter he'd pulled a leather jacket on top. Having it unzipped did ruin the affect though. It wasn't like he needed it though, only truly extreme temperatures affected vampires, they tended to wear coats and things to help blend in with humans.

"Sorry, I'm not used to having visitors with good intentions this late at night." He replied smoothly. He smiled at me which made his handsome face light up; his dark hair was flopping into his eyes which were a rich blue, the stubble on his chin made him look rugged, yet in a good way. None of it distracted from the calm that I felt wash over me simply by being in his presence.

You see, I'm a telepath and I can pretty much read anyone's mind, although shape-shifters and Weres give me a bit of trouble, vampires are the only one that remain completely blank. So, after twenty six years of hearing everyone's unwanted thoughts and having to try every waking minute to keep up mental shields so I can keep them out, being able to completely relax is a real luxury.

He leaned past me to unlock the door then gestured for me to precede him inside. I'd only ever been in his house once before and that was before the start of the restoration work. Everything inside was now finished, it was just the outside that was still in need of repair. Every surface gleamed with newness and paintings decorated the walls although there seemed to be no correlation between them. He'd probably picked them up over the years as many different styles were represented, I noted as I walked down the hallway to the small kitchen.

Once in the kitchen I saw that although it was stalked, rather simply, for human use none of it except for the microwave looked like it had ever been used and there was no table, just the breakfast bar that held two bar stools. So, with nowhere else to sit, I perched on one of them, facing into the room so that I could track Bill with my eyes.

"Can I offer you a drink? I'm afraid I don't have much." He gave me a bit of a lopsided grin before heading to the fridge where he pulled himself a bottle of True Blood out.

"Do you have any hot tea?" I asked politely, I could never forget my manners. It also wasn't that much warmer inside that out, it was obvious that Bill didn't bother with the heating, although he probably did when he expected company.

"Yes, I'll make a pot." I sat in silence as he quickly made me a cup of tea which was placed in front of me within two minutes along with milk and sugar. I didn't use the sugar though; it only ruined the taste in my opinion.

"So what do I owe the pleasure of your company?" He asked, taking his bottle out of the microwave and leaning against the counter top opposite me.

"I've actually come to ask you a favour, I know I shouldn't, we don't really know each other well enough but it's about Jason." I was suddenly quite nervous, not knowing the etiquette for asking vampires favours and what I might have to do in return. If this had been Arlene I would have offered to watch the kids and clean the trailer, now, well I just didn't know.

"Jason your brother."

"Yes."

"What's the problem?"

"Well he's gone missing. He's been gone at least a week but more likely ten days and he's never quite done this before. I'm really worried about him." I finished and I realised that tears were beginning to prick the corners of my eyes. A box of tissues was placed in front of me, with Bill not saying a word. That was a good thing, if he'd tried consoling me or registering my tears more, I'd have probably cried much harder.

"Why are you so worried? He's a grown man, he can look after himself." It wasn't a question and it made me question, for the first time too, how well my brother and Bill knew each other, because Bill sounded oddly confident about my brother's capabilities.

"Well he's gone missing before but never for longer than a few days and he always calls me. We're the only two left out of our family now, so we look out for each other as much as possible. He may be a bit of a flake at times but he wouldn't make me worry unnecessarily. But, it's his lifestyle recently that's really making me worry. I haven't been able to tell the police because it wouldn't exactly spur them into gear."

"You mean his recent fascination with vampires?" Well that shocked me, I hadn't been aware that anyone other than me really knew the extent of his recent curiosity.

"Erm, yes."

"So you think you're brother has got mixed in with the wrong crowd and you're coming to a vampire for help?" He didn't sound angry though, slightly amused would have been much closer.

"Oh Bill, it's not really how it sounds!" I gasped, trying to cover my tracks as it honestly wasn't as bad as it sounded. "You know how I feel about vampires," I continued. Bill was one of the few people outside of my family that knew of my telepathy of fact; he also knew I couldn't hear a single thought in his head. "I think something bad has happened to Jason, I'm not entirely sure what, but it may have something to do with vampires and the humans around here are doing nothing to help!"

"Okay then, there's no need to look so worried Sookie, I know what you mean. When was the last time you heard and saw Jason?" He proceeded very politely and concisely, automatically giving me more confidence in him than the police who had all but laughed me away.

"I saw him two weeks ago when we had lunch together and I spoke to him last Thursday evening on the phone, he mentioned a girl he was taking out on a date the next day, they were going to a vampire bar in Shreveport." I couldn't think of anything else of importance that he'd said.

"Fangtasia?" Bill asked and when I looked up to his face it was a stone mask, he wasn't moving at all and his eyes had iced over. I couldn't stop myself from swallowing uneasily as a little shiver ran down my spine.

"Yes, is something wrong?"

"I don't know yet." He suddenly moved and his face became more animated; he blinked, licked his lips and the cold sheen across his eyes melted until they were once again soft. "Who was his date with?" He asked changing the topic slightly.

"He didn't actually say and I didn't ask because he goes on so many dates I don't keep track anymore. He did say she was from the west of Bon Temps, which could mean Hot Shot." Hot Shot was a small community built on a little used crossroads about four miles to the west of Bon Temps. Strange things seemed to happen there, disturbances that the police would respond to only to be told it was a false alarm. We hardly ever saw any of the folk from that neck of the woods even though they lived so close. As far as I could tell they never left their little village. The whole place and its inhabitants was just a little unsettling.

"And he was taking this girl to Fangtasia last Friday," Bill summarised adeptly.

"Yes."

"Then we might have some trouble. What do you want me to do Sookie?" He placed the now empty bottle in the sink, letting the water from the tap fill it up and getting all the dregs out of the bottom so he could pop it in the recycling tub.

"I was hoping that you could take me to Fangtasia, I could show people a picture of my brother and see if he made it to his date. If he did, it cuts down how long he's been missing and someone might have heard him say something." I couldn't have kept the hope out of my voice if I'd tried.

"Okay, but on one condition," he replied and my stomach dropped straight through the floor. When I didn't make any form of reply he continued with his request. "Go on a date with me." My stomach rose so far that I could feel it in my chest and my heart picked up its pace so I could feel it thumping against my ribs. I couldn't help but wonder if Bill could hear it beating, if what I read about vampires in the media was anywhere near correct he most definitely could.

"Okay." It was actually one of the best outcomes I could have possibly hoped for and I'd get an honest to God date out of it where I wouldn't have to constantly worry about hearing something I didn't want to. Of course, I would only go on the date if Jason was found and he was healthy, I just hoped Bill understood that point because I didn't want to spell it out for him.

"Good, I've been wanting to go out on a date with your for months. Can I get you another tea?"

"No thanks. Can we go to Fangtasia tonight or do we have to wait?" I glanced nervously at the clock as more time had passed than I'd realised.

"We'll have to wait until tomorrow evening now, the bar will be closing in just over an hour and we will need a full bar to get the best answers. I will pick you up at seven. Now, would you like walking back to your house?" He asked with all of his Southern charm.

"Oh, no thank-you. I like the walk actually, even in the cold. I need the time alone to think." I stood after placing all of the things in front of me neatly together so it would be easier for him to tidy them up, then I padded towards the front door. "Thank-you for everything Bill," I whispered once I reached the door. Silent tears were once again threatening to brim over my eyes. Without caution I threw my arms around his neck and gave him a hug.

His hard body was like stone at first, immovable beneath me, but then he yielded to the contact, letting his arms snake around my waist and pull me in tightly to him. Then he did something I really didn't expect; he placed a tender kiss on the top of my head before pulling away. I smiled my thanks at him again and then I turned on my heels and left the house, heading into the darkness across the cemetery to my own home.

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**So what did you think? You know I love reviews and I promise that Mr Northman features in the next chapter. **


	2. Fangtasia

**Hey guys, **

**Here's the second chapter of my new story, I hope you like it. College is over now, I don't have a job, so writing is taking up my free time so lots of updates! Nothing new to report at all so Charlaine Harris owns the wonderful Southern Vampire Mysteries, and on with the new chapter. **

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By six o clock the following evening I'd completed my now usual phone calls only to be told the same thing; Jason hadn't been seen and I was sat awkwardly on one of the sofas in the living room trying desperately to relax. All my daily chores had been completed and I couldn't even concentrate on a book due to my churning stomach. I'm not at all psychic, no matter what some people think, but I felt like I was stood on the edge of a precipice about to plunge into a turbulent pool below. So there I sat, watching the seconds pass by until at precisely six o clock there was a knock on the door.

I scrambled into the hall, grabbing my bag along the way. I could hear nothing from the other side, not even a stray thought and odd as it sounds it soothed me. So much so that the flapping bats inside me were reduced to fluttering butterflies that I could actually cope with. When I opened the door it was to reveal old fashioned Bill looking back at me with wide eyes and a pale face, although that was probably his natural colour even after feeding which he clearly had.

His deep eyes roamed up and down my body, taking in everything I was wearing which wasn't really that much. The mainly white dress reached down to about two inches above my knees with a sweetheart neckline that gave an inkling of the substantial swell of my chest. The spaghetti straps left my shoulders bare and showed off the residual tan I still had from summer. The material was thick enough that I hadn't needed an underskirt and small red flowers with curling, intertwined stems decorated the blank canvas. It was the only dressy up dress that I owned that was in reasonable condition as I didn't really get many chances to wear them and I just couldn't find a suitable cardigan in my wardrobe even though I could have sworn I had one.

"Am I dressed okay?" Bill's eyes were still roaming over my body which was beginning to unsettle me.

"Yes." He replied tersely before stepping away from the door and walking down the porch steps towards his car without even a glance back to see if I was following. I shrugged my heavy coat on, hoping that I'd be able to leave it in Bill's car once we got to the bar and locked the door behind me quickly so that I could jog in my pumps through the chill night air.

It was only when I was sat inside the car that I realised it was some form of Chevrolet sports car that made Bill seem like he was going through some form of midlife crisis if that was at all possible. Trucks were the staple car around here, well either that or the little cars for nipping around town, like what I drove. This car did not blend in and the metallic blue colour didn't exactly help either. At least it could be classed as patriotic. I fastened my seatbelt and sat back into the comfortable seats, letting my fingers play with the cotton upholstery.

"Why do you look angry?" I asked after twenty minutes of silence during which I'd had to grip the seat tightly at least five times due to the speeds at which he drove.

"I'm not angry." He replied, his eyes never flickering from the road.

"You looked stony face as soon as I opened my door and you saw me, now you know I can't read your mind so tell me, what's wrong?" My temper flared slightly at his obvious denial of the truth.

"You'd better keep yourself under check Sookie. The vampires we will meet tonight are not all trying to mainstream, they won't take nicely to your out spoken personality although some will find it endearing, which is perhaps even more worrisome." The way he spoke it was as though he knew exactly which vampires would stick to me like bugs to fly paper and he wasn't looking forward to it. It almost seemed like he was being possessive of me which seemed odd; all considering we didn't really know each other that well and we had never actually been on a date. "Now, there is nothing wrong with the way you're dressed, in fact you look beautiful. It's just going to make it a little more difficult to make sure we stay safe." He glanced at me this time, sending me a soft smile to ease my nerves.

The rest of the journey was spent in silence too although it was a lot more companionable that before. The scenery passed by at ridiculous speeds and I had to keep reminding myself that Bill had beyond belief reflexes along with his many over suped up senses and characteristics such as strength. All too soon we began to slow, the indicator was flipped on and we turned into a largely closed strip mall car park. The only occupants were all clustered into one area which I could see was lit up by neon signs.

As we drew closer the signs became more legible and the scrawling writing of _Fangtasia_ came into view, illuminated on each side of the large building in a different colour. Bill pulled his car into a designated _Fangs Only_ bay close to the door and I caught my first true glimpse of Fangtasia. There was already a queue outside the building even though it was still quite early for a club and ever member of the clientele was dressed in black. Goths were the most prominent patrons, their hair done up extravagantly and make up applied liberally, in the hopes that they could appear like one of the vampires that dwelled inside. The other people in the queue appeared to be tourists; their black shirts either had Fangtasia emblazoned across the front or were plane black. The cameras hanging out of their pockets also gave them away a little bit too.

I was still ogling the patrons when my door was opened suddenly, causing me to gasp until I realised it was only Bill trying to be a gentleman. Smiling my appreciation I stepped out of the low vehicle and took his arm before taking the short walk to the front of the queue. Apparently as a vampire he didn't have to bother waiting in line, and since I was with him that included me too. We were greeted at the door by a very bored looking female vampire that seemed to be personifying Morticia Adams with blonde hair.

"Bill, we haven't seen you in a long time. How's the mainstreaming going?" She asked in an almost monotone until she got to the last part where I could have sworn I detected a little bit of sarcasm.

"Pam, it's nice to see you too." I wasn't sure if Bill was aware she hadn't actually said it was nice to see him in such a long time or not. "Mainstreaming is very well thank-you, I'm enjoying life again. Let me introduce you to Sookie. Sookie dear this is Pam, one of the co owners of the bar."

"Hi! It's nice to meet you," I beamed at her, my nervous smile plastered across my face. I offered my hand out tentatively toward her and only realised I'd done some form of faux pas when she only looked at my hand, her eyebrows slightly raised.

"Well what a little ray of sunshine you are. How old are you?" She asked, not bothering to hide her roaming eyes.

"Twenty six." I replied swiftly and my statement was backed up by the nodding of Bill's head.

"Okay, I'll forego the ID; you appear to be telling the truth." Oh dear god, how could she tell I was telling the truth? Could vampires really detect such minute changes in the human body that occur in lying? That was a little piece of information to remember. "Remember no biting, feeding or sex on the premises." That was the last bit of attention she paid to us, she turned to the next people in the line who had been grumbling until they'd realised Bill had been a vampire. I gulped once to gather my nerves and by the time I'd finished the small movement we were over the threshold.

Fangtasia was a bit like a mecca for vampires, as most people seem to interpret them. From what I knew of vampires, it probably wasn't a place they would be most comfortable in as most didn't go for the whole gothic scenes. The wall of the main entrance and the bar were grey whilst the remaining side walls were black, breaking up the colour were stripes of red running around the floor, ceiling and centre. Decorating most of the walls and surfaces was vampire memorabilia from every possible film, television and book you could think of that had even mentioned vampires in passing. The crowd inside was a continuation of the queue outside; everyone was wearing black and already the dance floor was heaving with gyrating bodies.

"We'll go get a booth," Bill spoke directly into my ear so that I could hear him over the pounding music. I nodded my reply still watching the intricate lace the adorned one wall that seemed to be part of a shrine to Dracula in all of his forms from Christopher Lee to Gerard Butler. With his hand on my lower back he guided me over a mercifully empty booth; the only surrounding occupants seemed to be loved up couples that wouldn't pay us any attention. "Would you like a drink?" He asked courteously once we were comfortably seated, facing each other.

"Yes please, a gin and tonic?" He inclined his head in acknowledgement before leaving silently.

I was left alone in the bar to watch the scenes playing out before me: a writhing mass of young Goths were taking up the dance floor where the music was being controlled by what appeared to be a vampire DJ in the corner of the room. In amongst the crowd there were a couple of pale, slightly luminous faces with blank spots for minds that made up the vampire patrons. I noticed a couple of others within the bar too; a long dark haired bar tender, the blond woman on the door, a young man that couldn't be older than twenty going from booth to booth talking to the women and a man sat at the back of the room on a raised chair that looked much too like a throne for my liking.

As I was scanning the room my gaze was caught by the fellow sat in the chair, and try as I might to not like him because surely he was an arrogant so and so with a personality to match. He was a very striking man, handsome as well as beautiful yet in a very masculine way although his hair shouldn't have created that affect at all. Long, pale almost white blond hair, trailed over his shoulders in a straight curtain as though it was begging me to run my fingers through it. His face was set in a bored line but almost as though even in such a relaxed state, he was more draped across the chair, he was highly proud of himself and this establishment. His jaw line was well defined and his nose was straight, which led up to a barely visible eyebrows set on a solid forehead. He was gorgeous and his dazzling blue eyes certainly helped the affect. When I looked into his eyes I realised I'd been caught.

My eyes dropped instantly downward to look at the table top in front of me, heat flaring across my cheeks as I did so. That's when I felt it for the first time, something at the edges of my mind, trying desperately to get in. I couldn't quite describe the sensation but the closest thing I can think of is lots of little painless needles poking at my mind, trying to gain entrance. Something told me that I wouldn't like whatever it would do if it did gain entry. My shields shot up automatically as soon as I felt the presence, clamping down on my inner thoughts locking away my mind. My eyes screwed up in concentration from the unseen power and I realised this must be some form of vampire influence.

As soon as that thought slipped through my mind my eyes snapped open, scanning the room around me for the culprit for I was sure this sort of thing wasn't allowed in the bar. No one was looking my way, none of the vampire crowd at least. Then I saw who it was; the man sat at the head of the bar, the one with the throne. He was staring intently at me with an interested expression on his face that I knew must mean trouble.

"Are you okay?" Bill asked suddenly in my ear, his hand reaching across to lie gently on my shoulder. My drink was already placed on the table in front of me and I hadn't even noticed it.

"What? Oh yes, I'm fine thank-you." I replied, somehow still maintaining my shields but the pressure had disappeared as quickly as it had arrived. "Thanks for the drink," I added, raising the glass to my lips for a sip.

We sat in silence, letting the minutes pass by as we each drank our respective drinks whilst scanning the crowd. At least, that's what I was doing; it was difficult to tell with vampires. My 'mental ears' were piqued, listening intently for any mention of anything that could be related to my brother but I was getting absolutely nothing for my efforts. The only thing on everyone's mind; sex. It was disturbing and perverted some of the thoughts I was picking up on, especially from the projectors who I often get pictures from. I'd seen images I'd never wished to see in my life. All the while I was aware of a pair of eyes watching me from across the room and every so often the tell tale pressure returned to my mind.

"Bill, are you able to influence me?" I asked after about five minutes, wanting to know the answer to at least one of my questions.

"Yes, most vampires, some don't develop the ability fully, are able to influence people. Why?" He asked with comically raised eyebrows, probably just making sure I got the idea over the loud, thumping music.

"Can you try on me please? I want to see if it works." I gave him my most innocent smile, hoping to disarm him.

"Now is not the time or the place to discover anything of the sort Sookie, perhaps later." I wasn't entirely sure but he did sound a little bit defensive, perhaps he wasn't entirely sure of his ability and I was the biggest threat to his talents. He knew I was different, and different didn't follow the normal pattern. I was more sure than before that the mental pressure I'd felt was the influence of the big vampire.

"Okay then, but who is that guy that keeps looking over here?" Best not to get him too protective, he was already on the defensive so it wouldn't be too big of a leap. Instantly his eyes flickered up in the direction I'd glanced, and his face set into hard, immobile stone.

"That's Eric; he's the oldest thing in this bar." He replied a little tersely, taking another, larger, gulp of his synthetic blood as soon as the last syllable had left his mouth.

"Why is he watching us?" I asked quietly, knowing that vampires had impressive senses that tended to improve with age.

"He finds you interesting. He's likely to summon us soon. You should get as much information as you can soon, this place will be packed within the hour and it will prove more difficult."

"Will you come with me?" I asked, feeling nervous again suddenly. I dove into my bag, finding my purse so that I could get the small photo of Jason that I kept in there out. My plan was rather basic; if I was talking to a human show them the picture which would get them thinking about Jason and I'd be able to read all the information out of their head, if it was a vampire show them the picture and see if they decided to tell me anything.

"Of course," was my cool reply which was accompanied by him standing up and moving quickly to offer me his hand by which time I was pretty much stood up anyway.

I started off by the first booth that wasn't occupied by a couple smooching. There were three young women sat together, each with some form of exotic looking cocktail sat in front of them which didn't look like they'd been touched. They were all impeccably dressed though in the customary gothic black with makeup that wasn't too excessive. Right from the closest girl's head I knew that they were all in college and couldn't actually afford more than one or two drinks whenever they came here but they just loved the atmosphere and the feeling of walking on the dark side.

"Hi! I was wondering if you could help me with something," I started out and I thought I detected that my accent was even stronger than usual because I was trying to be so polite.

"Sure, go ahead," all three of them chimed, their heads turned to watch me.

"Can you tell me if you've seen this guy around here?" I offered the photo to be passed around and I was pleased when all three seemed to take a very good look at the photo. A deluge of information swam at me; I don't think I've seen him around here but he's rather cute for an older guy, I've seen him in here a few times and every time a different woman or vampire hanging off of his arm I wish I was so lucky and finally I think I've seen him around here but I can't be too sure. The middle girl might be able to tell me something. "Any of you guys recognise him?"

"Yeah, I've seen him around here a few times, usually with a different guest every time. More humans than vampires though." The skinny girl in the middle shrugged her shoulders and my heart fell a little as I realised that really was the only information she could tell me.

That's how the next five people who I asked replied. Everyone that was a regular could remember seeing Jason in the bar with different people each time but no one had spoken to him or made any form of contact. In other words they could tell me nothing useful or anything that I didn't already know. That all changed with the next person that I spoke to.

"Excuse me, hi! Can you I ask you a quick question?" I asked brightly as I stood next to the only guy that was alone at the bar. Bill was a few places down from where I was ordering another couple of drinks for the two of us.

"You just did," came my gruff reply. He picked up the beer bottle he was holding and took a large swig before placing it back down on the bar with a thud. His eyes were roaming over my body in a leering way which made me wish whole heartedly I was wearing a little bit more clothing. "But go ahead sweetheart; I'll make you a deal." He didn't say anything else and his mind was oddly clouded with the amount of alcohol he'd consumed, all I could see in his mind was a horrid image of my breasts.

"Have you seen this guy around here before?" I held out the picture of my brother for him to see. His eyes barely glanced over the sheet before following up my arm to settle his gaze on my chest once again.

"Not that I recall, he's not your boyfriend is he? 'Cos you could do better, you could _do_ me." He leaned in further to me and I could smell the stench of beer on his breath. Then, before I could move, his hands came crashing down on my forearms. My hands had been resting on the metal rail that ran around just under the final ledge of the wooden bar. His skin was greasy, making the hairs on my arms stand up and the mental assault was disabling. His mind reeled with what he wanted to do with it and he honestly didn't care if wanted it or if I was even awake.

"Take your hands off of the lady." A deep voice said from behind me and I was glad that Bill had finally stepped in; as soon as the voice spoke I had the fleeting thought of wondering why he hadn't helped me earlier.

"Stay away mister, I was here first," the drunk replied whilst his fingers gripped me even tighter, walking the edge of pain.

"I said let the woman go," the voice behind me growl and it no longer sounded anything like Bill. A brilliantly white hand snapped in front of my face to land straight on the drunken man's arm.

"Argh!" The yell caught me by surprise as I was still feeling the shock of the power the arm had slapped down with. The human let go of my arms in shock, moving backwards even as he did so. The vampire that had come to my rescue wasn't letting go though and the man quickly reached the limits of his joints. "Let me go," he yelled.

"Why should I let you go? You didn't listen to me; you showed me great disrespect as the owner of this establishment." The vampire moved from behind me, getting a better grip on the would be attacker. A blond giant took up my entire field of vision, his broad shoulders blotting the scene that was playing out in front of me. "You're lucky I'm in a good mood tonight or I'd snap your wrists," Eric continued. Then without any form of visible calling, two female vampires appeared at his sides and carted off the drunk through a door I'd not noticed earlier.

"Thank-you," I stuttered as the blond god of darkness turned around to put all his attention on me.

"You are welcome woman." Although he was calling me something that could be construed as a little derogatory he said it as though he was giving me a title, one with at least some power behind it. "I'm Eric Northman, you are Bill's guest?"

"She is mine." Bill finally spoke up and I couldn't help but wonder where he'd been whilst I'd been having my little confrontation.

"Bill, I am not yours. I'm not anyone's, I am my own self." I said tersely with my arms folded over my chest. I was independent and I'd survived on my own for quite awhile.

"Fair game." A voice behind me whispered and it could only be Eric, the voice was so deep.

"Sookie, you don't know what you're saying. If you're not officially connected to me, you put yourself in danger here." Bill's fangs were down as he leant in to speak to me, his breath tickling my ear as the words rushed out of his mouth.

"Bill, I can handle myself."

"You managed to pick one with a little fire here Bill. What happened to mainstreaming?" Eric asked and I could hear the amusement in his voice as he took a few steps to stand perpendicular to both me and Bill.

"Eric now is not the time or the place."

"You want to pick a fight here? On my turf? You haven't even introduced us properly yet." His broad smile lit up his face in what I would class as a genuine emotion, especially or a vampire.

"Sookie, this is Eric Northman. Eric this is Sookie Stackhouse my date for the evening." I huffed audibly at that, causing two pairs of eyes to look at me intently.

"You're fun," Eric breathed with a barely there chuckle. "What information are you seeking here? I've seen you asking some of the patrons. Bill, nothing goes on in my club without my knowledge, tell me, why did you let her speak to anyone else when you could have saved so much time?" Bill and Eric had a history; there was no question about it. The testosterone level had risen exponentially.

"I'm wanting information on my brother, have you seen him?" I offered the picture, which was miraculously still clutched in my hand, at Eric for his inspection. He stared for a few moments at the slip of paper before turning his startlingly blue eyes up at me.

"I know Jason; he comes here quite a lot, especially lately. Shall we talk in my office?" His eyebrows rose up, questioningly and I couldn't help but notice the suggestive wiggle he gave them.

"Sookie, do not go with him. He doesn't have any morals and he's not exactly into mainstreaming." Bill growled at me from my side.

"What do you think Sookie? I may or may not have more information. Tell me though, what are you going to do with any information you gain?"

"I'm getting my brother back." I spoke with a confidence I didn't realise I possessed at that moment.

"So he's gone missing then. I don't know anything about that. But if it could be dangerous. Aren't you afraid?"

"No." I replied, hoping I really was telling the truth.

"You definitely picked a fun one, that's rare for a breather." He chuckled. "Are you coming to see if I have more information?" Then he turned back to look where he was going, the crowds parting before him like the red sea. He never looked back to see if I was following, leaving the decision with me. He'd admitted to more knowledge but also to not knowing anything about my brother's disappearance. It was up to me. Was I brave enough to face this new giant of a vampire?

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**So what do you think? I love feedback almost as much as I love a certain Viking Vampire. Next update soon. Oh sorry, it's a little late out, my connection to the internet wasn't working last night. **


	3. Information

**Hey guys, **

**So here's the next update, I hope you like it. We're getting the new dog on Friday which should be cool, I just hope that Lu doesn't get too jealous. I'm on work experience next week so although I'll be updating everyday this week, it might be a bit hit and mix next week. Right, I'll let you read the update, I need to go and watch the new episode of True Blood. I wish Franklin had kept his Yorkshire accent, mainly because I think it's a funky one (it's where I'm from). Charlaine Harris owns the wonderful Southern Vampire Mysteries. **

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"Ah, so nice of you to join me." I was greeted as soon as I slowly opened the door to the main office, peeking around the corner to make sure I'd gotten the correct room. I'd reached the staff door to the corridor running down the back of the main bar only a couple of seconds after Eric, fast enough to catch the door before it closed. When I'd turned into the hallway though everything was silent and there was no sign of where the tall vampire had gone. I'd been forced to walk slowly down the corridor and inspect each door, finding out if there was anyone behind it. The only room that had been occupied was this one.

"Hello," I replied because I wasn't quite sure how I was supposed to reply. I closed the door softly behind me and strode as confidently as possible into the large room. I wasn't quite fast enough to stop the little gasp from leaving my mouth as I took in the sight before me.

Eric was sat in a luxurious leather office chair with his long legs extended out before him so that his feet were propped up on the extensive, ornate desk with his legs crossed at the ankles. His fingers were laced behind his head showing the bulging muscles of his biceps through the thin material of his shirt. The leather jacket he'd been wearing only a few moments before was draped haphazardly over the arm of the couch. The entire office was made for show though but you could easily tell that comfort was the next thing in mind.

The sofa pushed up against the wall where the door was now shut, was plush and leather with studs that caused little mountains of cushions to swell up in an all over pattern. Four large cushions of a startling blood red were the decorations, yet they still looked inviting to curl up to if you were tired. Two more high backed chairs were placed in front of the desk, one of which was turned as though inviting me to take a seat. The desk itself was made of deep mahogany wood complete with ornate swirling patterns down the legs and around the lip. The surface was tidy, with trays containing different sheets of paper and a slightly whirring small computer. Behind the bar was a wall of filing cabinets with more stacking files on top and a mini fridge tucked into the corner. What surprised me though was the book shelf to the left of the desk which was fully stocked with books of all different shapes and sizes, I could hardly resist the urge to go and investigate.

"Take a seat," he added after he'd allowed me to stare around the room for a couple of seconds. I took my handbag down off of my shoulder, placed it on the floor by the chair and took my seat, crossing my legs at the knee. "You really are the candle in the coal mine out there, no one wears white to my bar." He didn't sound like he was complaining.

"You said you had information on my brother," I started out, trying desperately to maintain the eye contact.

"Yes I did," he replied with an amused chuckle and a small smile that showed that his fangs had run down. My gulp was clearly audible. A vampire's fangs run down for the following reasons; lust, hunger and violence. Neither one of them was particularly desirable to me.

"Can you tell me what you know?" I asked boldly, levelling my gaze and managing to keep my eyes from wavering. My dark blue eyes which bordered on gray stared into his much paler eyes. We were similar in the fact that we both had blue eyes and blond hair but that would be all. His hair was such a pale, baby, shade of blonde that it was ridiculous, I'd never known anyone past the age of four that had hair that pale. If he wasn't so handsome and pure man, it may have taken away some of masculinity.

"Jason has been coming in here for a few months, I started to recognise him after a few weeks. He got into a bit of trouble with the female vampires here." He started out.

"What did he do?" I groaned because it was just like Jason to get himself into trouble.

"He kept hitting on the females, continuing when they said no. Nothing too forceful, he's lucky he's so good looking or he'd have been in trouble. I had to give him warnings on a couple of occasions. The real information I have for you is that he's using V." I couldn't stop my eyes from bulging when I heard that piece of information.

V was the popular slang term for vampire blood, the new drug of choice amongst, well anyone. Most of the time it gave people heightened senses, energy, good health, an increased libido and due to all of the other factors more sexual prowess. The downside were the side affects that affected about 1 in 100 people and they tended to be disastrous. Situations tended to become violent and some people had bad reactions to it, verging in allergic reactions. The main problem was how addictive the blood was, very few people were able to try it once and say no to it in the future.

"He made the mistake of asking about it in the club, I couldn't kick him out for it, as I would have liked to, because he was always accompanied by an innocent woman and I was never within direct hearing of it." Without warning he sat up straight in his chair, taking his legs down from the desk in the same motion so that he looked very businesslike for when the door opened less than a second later. "How nice of you to join us," Eric drawled in a perfect Southern accent he hadn't been using during our conversation.

The person that had walked into the room and done so silently which immediately shouted vampire to me, what really sealed the deal was the blank mental signature. I turned around in my seat to come face to face with an absolutely livid Bill who was staring with unblinking eyes at Eric.

"Eric, what are you doing?" He growled out as he moved to lean against the back of the empty guest chair with his arms fully extended. His grip was so tight that the bones of his knuckles appeared to be in danger of breaking through his skin, the wood of the top of the chair began to crumble under the strain.

"I'm giving Sookie here some information on her brother; I do believe that you have no information yourself. Why are you back here anyway? It's strictly private and I don't remember inviting you," Eric replied and the smile was flickering over his lips again in amusement.

"Pam didn't seem to have a problem with letting me through though. I thought Sookie might be in danger." Bill's voice was lower than I'd ever heard it before, showing the anger he was feeling.

"Sookie is in no danger, I wouldn't hurt her here," Eric replied with a shrug of his large shoulders and oddly enough, I believed him. He wouldn't hurt me here at all, I trusted his statement so much that I doubted he'd let anyone hurt me here at all. The problem came as soon as I left the bar. He didn't want to harm the bar, potentially losing customers or money, but away from his property? I seriously doubted he had such compulsions.

"Why are you doing this?" I asked, stepping between two vampires that looked as though they may start throwing fists any second. It wasn't one of my best decisions. Two pairs of eyes turned to look at me, shock written across only one blue pair.

"You came to me Sookie, you want help and I agreed. You don't need to worry about my intentions." Bill replied, his steely gaze having returned to Eric.

"Bill, you agreed to help me in return for a date, it's not exactly honourable Bill." Eric actually out right laughed at that statement.

"Oh Bill, what a poster boy you are. Honestly? I wanted to help to annoy Bill at first, then I realised you actually had a reason for seeking help. You intrigue me." The blatant honesty disarmed me for a few seconds during which time I could only stare at him with a slightly gaping mouth. He was creepy and the wink at the end only heightened the observation I'd made.

"Okay," I whispered, after which my mouth finally closed completely.

"Bill, sit down or get out." Eric growled sounding completely exasperated with Bill's actions. Slowly, if he'd been a child he would have been dragging his feet, he sat down on the vacant guest chair.

"Eric, be careful. I'm not as weak as you think I am, Sookie is under my protection and she _is_ mine."

"On no you didn't mister! I've told you before, I am not yours! I am my own person! Stop saying that." My arms folded across my chest indignantly, staring at him with anger boiling through my veins.

"Sookie," he growled in caution. We'd had this conversation not an hour previously and I wasn't keen on rehashing it, clearly Bill wasn't either.

"No. You started this, I'm going to end it. Don't say that to me again, I am not property."

"Brilliant," Eric whispered behind me, so quietly I wasn't entirely sure I'd actually heard him speak. "I don't think she wants you here Bill." He added, much louder. The idea hadn't occurred to me before but suddenly it sounded like a much needed plan to have in not in the room. It would at least give me a better chance to talk with Eric, he hadn't finished giving me all of his information.

"Bill, please leave me to talk to Eric. You have no control over what I do." I emphasised my words with a single nod of my head, my arms still crossed over my chest. I changed their positioning slightly though, so they were no longer pushing up my breasts, that's one of the problems with having a good gift from god.

"Sookie, I don't think it's safe for you to be in here alone with him. He's not trying to mainstream." Bill responded, he hadn't even bothered to stand up.

"I believe him when he said he wouldn't hurt me here, it might put his bar at risk. You two don't get along and he has information I want. Please leave."

"Sookie, you don't know what you're saying!" Bill's voice was rising, verging on shouting at me and all it did was raise my own anger, sending it bubbling over the top.

"Bill!"

"Listen to the woman William Compton. You would do wise to not cross me, you may not be fresh anymore but I am much, _much_, older than you will ever be." Bill still didn't make any move to stand up. "Bill, as your superior I command you to leave." Eric's voice was no longer growling but the bass within it had grown stronger, sending a shiver down my spine even though it wasn't addressed at me.

After a split second's pause, Bill stood and turned toward the door, his head spinning around after the rest of him. He strode purposefully from the room although he wasn't opposed to slamming the door behind him on the way out. I actually felt a little sorry for him; he hadn't truly done anything wrong. In his own way he'd been trying to protect me, he'd just gone about it the completely wrong way. He'd also happened to pick a topic that I was a little touchy about, I liked my independence and cherished it dearly.

"Now, where were we?" Eric asked whilst he unfolded his tall body, getting more comfortably behind the desk. He turned sideways, his long legs stretched out in front of him though not up on the desk, and his elbows were resting on the armrests of the chair so that his hands were resting on his flat stomach.

"You said Jason was asking about V in the club." I replied without thinking.

"You really are interesting for someone alive, no one human has spoken to me like this in centuries. Now, yes, I never chucked him out but after the first incident I kept a much closer eye on him. Every girl he brought in was human, hadn't done any V, which is another reason he was saved the embarrassment. Every girl but one anyway. The second to last time I saw him he was with a petite woman, too skinny for my liking, who looked a little lacking in hygiene. She was some kind of shifter, although I couldn't get a definitive smell on her."

"When was this and how could you tell?" I asked quickly so that my words sounded like one convoluted mess.

"It was three weeks ago yesterday, he came in ten days ago as well with a human. I could.."]

"Wait!" I interrupted, not bothering to conceal the excitement in my voice. All he did in response was raise one eye brow whilst still looking incredibly amused. "You said he was in here ten nights ago?" I'd unintentionally leaned forward in my seat, my hands clasped tightly on my now unfolded knees.

"Yes, he was with a brunette woman I'd never seen before. She wasn't as pretty as the dates he usually brought. Before you ask he didn't seem strange and he acted pretty much normally from what I'd learnt through my observations."

"What time did he leave?"

"About an hour before closing so between 1 and 1:30. Why are you so interested in this visit? I just told you he came here with another supe, only vampires dare come here."

"My brother has been definitely missing for a week, when he started missing work but the last time anyone's sure they saw him or heard from him is ten nights ago. The people here could be the last people to see him."

"Ah. Then you should know that he left alone, he left his date to talk to a female vampire and she got bored. Left with another vampire only a couple of hours after she arrived here with Jason. I don't think that's the girl you want know about though. As for your other question, people smell differently. Humans are the sweetest, Weres stink and all other supernatural creatures have their own unique scent. The problem is, I'd never smelt anything like her before in my very long life."

"Tell me about her," I stated, still leaning forward in my chair.

"First, what's in this for me? You mentioned earlier you made a deal with Bill. I've been most out of character so far, I never do anything for free." He didn't need to give me any evidence of this trait, it was very easy to believe him about this.

"I can give you the same deal as Bill?" I asked a lot more tentatively. Bill had been easy to get on my side, I knew of something that he wanted, Eric however I'd only just met. I had no idea what he wanted.

"I think we can come up with something more agreeable than that. I will take a date though but you also have to agree to accompany me the Halloween party I am holding here. A costume is necessary of course." He leered at me, his broad smile showing the elongated fangs. I was fine with the date part; they can't last for too long, it's only one and he was doing me a large favour. The problem I had was with the party and a costume, I had the sinking feeling in my stomach that I wouldn't like any costume he picked for me. However, if I wanted his help I had no choice but to agree.

"Okay," I whispered and I finally sat back in the chair, my hands now grasping the arm rests tightly.

"The supe was called Crystal, no one ever mentioned her surname and we didn't need to check her ID. I didn't get any sense of true power from her which makes me think she's possibly a bitten shifter. That's all I know."

"You made me promise a date and a party for that!" I cried out only to be met by another broad grin.

"Yes."

"You leach!" I cried out, saying the first even slightly derogatory term my mind came up with. Turns out my brain doesn't do much with vocabulary under pressure.

"If it helps think of it as an overall payment for the information I've given you. Your phone is about to ring." He added as though in an afterthought. How he could hear my phone I didn't know. I currently had my newly acquired mobile set so that it only started vibrating after three rings and there was no ringtone at all.

Not doubting his superior hearing though I picked my bag up, undoing the zip just as the phone began to start vibrating.

"Hello?" I asked without checking the caller ID. "Hello?" I asked a little more frantically, pulling the phone away from my ear to make sure I was still connected; I was. "Hello, can you hear me?" That's when I heard it, heavy breathing coming down the receiver, as though whoever was on the other end was in pain. "Hello?" My voice had risen in pitch and volume; tears were beginning to slip down my cheeks. The phone then fell to the floor and I heard the crash through my mobile, shouting to whoever the distressed caller was but I was only met by the shrill beep of being disconnected.

Eric was beside me as soon as I pulled the phone from my ear, taking it in his large hand. He gazed at the screen for a second before locking it up and slipping it into his own jeans pocket before returning to lean against his desk on the side nearest to me.

"Do you know this number?" He asked softly before reeling off the number he'd obviously seen from my log book. The number he said we my home phone number.

"It's mine."

"Someone is in your house. Did you recognise anything?" He asked softly then his eyes went wide when he saw the tears trailing down my cheeks for the first time. "Don't cry, please don't cry. It makes me feel strange things." The next thing I knew a crisp white tissue was placed in my hand.

"Thank-you," I mumbled as I tried to control my breathing, calming down so that my tears wouldn't turn into sobs. "The person was in pain, distressed. I think it's Jason. I have to get home!" The thought was spoken as soon as it crossed my mind. As soon as I'd spoken I was standing up and spinning around to rush to the door.

"Wait, I'll take you, it will save time." I'd barely registered his words than he was pulling me along by the careful grasp, firm yet not painful, he had on my lower arm. He was now wearing his leather jacket and a set of car keys jingled from his free hand.

We walked hurriedly down half of the hallway where we disappeared through one of the closed doors which turned out to be the staff exit. Once through the door I found myself in the back parking lot, surrounded by expensive looking cars, several of which were imports. I was directed to one of the closest ones.

"Here," Eric stated as he pulled the door open for me to get in, waiting until I was sat in the low sport bucket set before closing the door. My seat belt had only just clicked into place when the engine started and we were wheel spinning out of the parking lot. The ride was silent as neither of us spoke; Eric was simply following the signs for Bon Temps. I assumed he would ask me for more specific directions when we got closer.

Fifteen minutes into the ride we were breaking the speed limit travelling down the high way and my vision was finally beginning to clear as the tears slowed so that I was barely crying.

"Here," Eric said suddenly as he thrust my mobile phone at me from his outstretched hand. The screen was lit up with an incoming call. Without thinking I clasped it in my head, pressing the green answer button as I simultaneously pressed it to me ear.

"Hello?" I called loudly to be met only with silence from the other end. "Hello? Jason?" A single breath broke the silence down the phone causing my heart to stop its heavy thumping in my chest. "Jason is that you!" I only got one word in response and it got my heart pumping again.

"Help."

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**So what did you think? You know I love reviews almost as much as I would love to go riding at an abandoned airfield in a Audi R8 Spyder with a certain Viking Vampire. Until tomorrow**


	4. Invitations

**Hello my wonderful readers, **

**Here's the next update, I hope you liked it. There's a bit more action in this chapter than the other three, so let me know what you think. Still got both Bill and Eric, although I think it's easy to tell I'm team Northman. I had my last in a course of vaccines so my left arm feels like it's about to drop off because of course I had to go driving after I got it and I had my flute and piano lessons as well. Ah well, I've had much, much worse than that. I may tell you about it sometime. Anyway, Charlaine Harris owns the Southern Vampire Mysteries. **

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"Hello?" I called loudly to be met only with silence from the other end. "Hello? Jason?" A single breath broke the silence down the phone causing my heart to stop its heavy thumping in my chest. "Jason is that you!" I only got one word in response and it got my heart pumping again.

"Help."

The voice was barely understandable there was such anguish contained within it. "Jason!" I screamed because even through all the pain I could still hear my brother, calling for my help down the phone. Then the line went dead, the shrill beeping echoing around my head. "Jason," I mumbled through my sobs. There was no doubt in my mind now that Jason had just wondered off with a new woman; he was in trouble, serious trouble. I also had the sinking feeling that his trouble was of a decidedly supernatural nature.

"What happened?" Eric asked me softly, trying to break through my tears so that my mangled mind could understand him.

"Jason, he's at my house again or still. He's calling for help," I cried out, barely legible through the tears.

"Calm down." He growled, his voice getting lower as he spoke. "Calm down now Sookie." In shock I turned to look at this stony face that was partially turned to look at me whilst he could still glimpse the road.

"What?" I asked, anger rising once again in my veins.

"I said, calm down now." He repeated as he turned back to the road before adding, "Don't you dare cry anymore." I sat in stunned silence at his complete disregard for my feelings, watching his unmoving face as he weaved between the traffic that was beginning to build up on the exits.

We passed the rest of the journey in silence, my time was spent with my mind spinning and the cogs whirring as I thought through what could potentially be wrong with Jason. Although he'd spoken harshly I had noticed that our speed had increased even further, I hadn't been aware that standard cars were able to go this fast.

"It worked," he observed when we were reaching the border of Bon Temps.

"What do you mean?" I asked cautiously, not liking his tone, he sounded suspicious.

"Nothing. Now, which way do I go?" He responded, half of his face raising up in a little smirk. I shook my head trying to clear it and gave him the directions to my house without really thinking about it. That's when it struck me what he'd done. My tears had stopped, my heart was no longer sounding like it was going to burst through my chest; he'd calmed me down. Using harsh words, being a little brutal if I was honest, he'd succeeded in calming me down. He'd done work like no one else since my grandmother had died.

"You calmed me down," I whispered a little in awe. Usually when I was crying, which wasn't really that often, I was at my friend Arlene's house and she used soft words accompanied by large hugs. I actually tended to cry harder in the therapy that she called crying it out even if I didn't necessarily want to.

"Yes. Left?" He asked as he came to the crossroads near the centre of town where my last set of instructions had taken him to. I simply nodded in return and we turned onto Hummingbird Road, going faster than any car I'd ever seen down here. We nearly past the turning for my drive as I hadn't realised how far we'd gone.

The car slowed down as soon as we hit the sparse gravel that covered my drive, the impressive engine barely purring enough to cut through the still night air. My breath caught in my throat; I might find out the trouble my brother was in, I might find my brother, I might find him dead.

"Hold it together," he whispered to me, closer to my ear than I'd expected. He was only a few inches away from me, leaning over me from his seat whilst the car was still crawling forward as quietly as possible. As I was about to speak his pointer finger from the hand that wasn't on the steering wheel rested against my lips silencing my words. "Shh," he whispered before turning back to look straight forward.

We crawled further up the road and my house came into view, lit up from the safety lights. The back section of the house was shrouded in darkness, at least two of the lights were smashed and I had definitely not left them like that. We drew closer and I cast out my mental net, scoping the place to see if could find anyone within the local area. Several brains sprung up in my head, plotted on the map they were inside my house, running from room to room as though searching for something. Their minds were clouded over, hiding their thoughts, the only thing that I got from them was a brick wall of red.

"There's someone in the house," I whispered as quietly as possible. Although it was unlikely that the people could hear me, it felt wrong to speak normally.

"I know." It was the only reply I got until I turned to him quizzically. He tapped his ear before stopping the car, putting the car in second gear so that it wouldn't roll and applying the handbrake. He motioned for me to stay where I was, staring at me pointedly after he did so. Then he opened his door quietly, unfolded his long frame out, closed the door with no bang, and then loped across the grass to the front porch, keeping himself as low to the ground as possible.

Just before he reached the wooden wraparound porch he turned to look back at the car and he managed to lock eyes with me across all the yards that separated us. He stared me down until I was forced to look away but I got the message; I was to stay exactly where I was, safe in the car. He stalked, because that's the only way to describe his stealthy movements, except perhaps as though he was a cat, like a lion stalking the gazelle. With baited breath I watched as he stepped lightly up the three steps onto the porch itself. That's when we both realised he couldn't actually enter my house; he hadn't been invited in.

With wide eyes he turned to look at me, silently willing me to understand his predicament. Of course I did and without thinking of the consequences I whispered to the night air, "Please come on in," praying that it would work when I wasn't actually in my home.

The next instant he was flying through my front door, opening it and moving through in the same movement that was faster than my eyes could clearly follow. I could do nothing but watch and I found that fear had my gripped in it's deathly grip. A cold sweat had broken out across my entire body whilst a chill shiver ran down my spine sending my muscles to quivering uncontrollably. There were no lights on in my house and I couldn't follow any of the movements even though I desperately wanted to. Of course, I had another gift at my disposal that no one else, to my knowledge, possessed.

I closed my eyes and relaxed back in to the seat, knowing that my telepathy worked better even if I relaxed, it didn't necessarily need mental relaxation, just of the body. The map in my head showed my house, created from the relative positions of rooms that I knew. There were six people inside; five with clouded brains and one complete blank. The blank was Eric and he was in my living room, standing opposite one of the clouds. I could assume the clouded minds were supernaturals, probably shifters but I just couldn't tell.

The other four minds began to converge in the hallway, ready to spring an attack. There was nothing I could do, no warning I could give that would sufficiently alert Eric. I could only watch in my head as the scene played out before me. Before I could blink all of the minds entered the living room, surrounding the same area. I couldn't stand it any longer; I had to do something and it was obvious that my brother wasn't here any longer.

I scrambled out of the car, not caring for stealth any longer, anything supernatural would hear a human's approach anyway. I left the car door open, taking the time instead to start running across the grass to my house. Fortunately I wasn't breathing very heavily when I reached the porch, grasping the wood for support as I tried to peer into the living room through the partially open curtains. I wasn't tall enough though which forced me to creep up the creaky wooden steps.

"Come on," I whispered to myself to build my confidence. After a few shaking breaths I crawled up the steps, keeping my entire body on the floor so that I wouldn't be seen at least. My back hit the wall of the house softly and I sat there, getting my breath that had been stolen through the nerve wracking movements. My eyelids fluttered shut as I tried to control my heart that was pounding away inside my chest, threatening to break a rib.

"Gotcha," a voice called through the darkness and before I could move a pair of strong, muscular arms had wrapped themselves around my waist to pull me into their body. A large hand clamped down over my mouth, suffocating the scream before the idea could be realised. My arms flailed against the man's chest as panic swept through my mind, blotting out any rational thought. "Stop it," the voice growled at me. The arms tightened considerably around my waist, squeezing the air out of my lungs so that I gasped for breath.

My eyes were beginning to buy out of my head when I got the first look at my attacker. It wasn't Eric like I'd begun to imagine, the arms were certainly strong enough and the body was large enough. Instead of staring into blue eyes that were surrounded by a halo of blond, I was staring into black eyes with mucky brown hair that was dangling down past his eyebrows.

I screamed silently against his palm, fear filling every drop of blood in my body and filling my muscles with a strength that I didn't know I possessed. I stomped down with all of my might on his foot, using my heel to pressurise his instep. The gasp he gave was my only reward. His fingernails dug into the flesh of my stomach, through the material of my dress.

"Leave her alone," a booming voice broke out around us, shocking me into stillness. Through the filthy hand of the man who had me I could see the massive frame of Eric behind him. His eyes were steel grey from what I could see from the light from the security lamps. His hair was flying around about his shoulders whilst his hands were curled into claws by his sides, giving a more feral look to his stooped stance.

"What do you want vampire?" The man growled back, his voice sounding more animalistic with each passing syllable.

"I want you to release her!" Eric replied as he inched further forward.

"Stop moving!" My bugging eyes stared at the vampire who was continuing to move. Suddenly the man's eyes moved, one stayed around my waist while the other moved up body, palm flat against my curves. He moved upwards until it was around my neck, my throat pressed tightly into the crook of his elbow. "Stop where you are!" The pressure around my neck intensified, cutting off the air supply to my already squashed lungs. Silent tears fell from my eyes even though I thought I'd cried myself dry.

"Release her," another voice joined in the slanging match through the growing darkness and I could breath again. I toppled forward only to be picked up before I could hit the floor by another pair of strong arms, this time belonging to someone who smelt distinctly of clean linen and man. Through fogging up eyes I watched, gasping desperately for breath, as Eric gripped me tightly to his side. I found out who the mysterious stranger was then, it was Bill, gripping my attack by two hands around his throat so that his feet were a few inches above the ground.

"Bill," cautioned Eric, his deep voice breaking through my mind even in its haze. My staggering feet found purchase on the wooden flooring and I tried propelling myself forward. My attacker was here for a reason, and I wasn't it, he knew something about Jason. One hand grasped onto Eric with a white knuckle grip whilst the other tenderly touched my throat, carefully brushing the pain away.

"Let me," I gasped out, my voice sounding raspy even to my own ears. I was set onto my feet in a more stable position. With a piercing look from Eric, Bill released the man who promptly slumped to the floor. "Who sent you?" I asked, my voice barely a whisper.

"The lady asked who sent you," Eric added for me after a few seconds of waiting. His hand reared back before rushing forwards, slapping the man with an open hand causing blood to come spewing out of his mouth as well as something more substantial.

"No one sent me," the man spluttered. Then he jumped to his feet, faster than I could follow. He launched himself at Bill who was the closest one to him. Quick as a blink I was left standing on my own as Eric flew across the porch to rip the man from Bill, his nails gouging out flesh the man's shoulders in the process.

"Who sent you?" Eric's face was barely an inch from the Were's, for that's what he was. His mind was clouded now that I could actually form a thought.

"I don't tell nothing to the dead!" The man literally spat, the only thing saving my vampire was quick reflexes. It didn't however, save the Were. With a flick of Eric's wrist there was sickening crunch, the Were's head lolled forward at a stomach churning lurch. Dead. The mental blot disappeared the same instant his chin hit his chest and his body went completely relaxed.

"We didn't know any information!" Bill shouted, finally coming to life after watching the Were attack and Eric defend him.

"He spat at me, his disrespect was bad even for his kind." Was the reply, accompanied by a swift kick to the body, making it topple unceremoniously to the floor. If I'd have eaten anything recently I would have lost the contents to my stomach. I chose that precise moment to pass out for the first time in my life.

"We didn't get any information from him, you killed him before we had the chance." Bill's anger filled voice was the first thing that I heard when I began gaining consciousness an undeterminable amount of time later.

"Have faith, there were more of them, there's another dead down stairs. We'll find out all the information we need."

"How can we when they're dead?" Stomping feet accompanied these words and I felt each step echoing around my head.

"Trust your nose," came Eric's exasperated reply and I couldn't keep silent any longer. I moaned as I rolled over onto my back, blinking furiously to clear my eyes so that I could see what was happening around me. I was laid in my bedroom on the big queen sized bed on top of the covers. The main light was on above me, sending sparkling lights dancing through my head whilst pain erupted inside.

"Oh god," I whispered quietly as I finally sat up, slowly with my hands braced against the mattress. Within a few seconds the mattress dipped as someone sat beside me from the opposite side I was looking towards. When my head moved to see who it was pain splintered through my skull, needling behind my eyes. "Why do I feel like this?"

"You hit your head when you passed out, I was too busy to catch you fully before you hit the porch."

"I thought vampires had the best reflexes," I replied with more than a little sarcasm lacing my voice. I grabbed the glass of cold water that was held out to me by an extended white arm.

"We do, and you still continue to amuse me. I was a little busy getting annoyed with Bill."

"Where is he?"

"On the porch where I left him, you'd only invited me into the house," I managed to turn my head around in time to see the smirk stretching across his lips.

"Bill, please come in." I called out, knowing that I didn't really need to, as long as the words were spoken the invisible barrier would be broken whether the vampire heard or not.

"Bill, so nice of you to join us."

"Sookie, how are you feeling?" Bill asked as he took a seat in the arm chair across from my bed, thankfully ignoring the space at the other side of me.

"Like I bashed my head on wood," I replied with even more of a drawl than usual. "What's going off between you too?" I asked as I recalled the end of the argument between them that I'd observed.

"It's a long story," Eric laughed, managing to shake the bed with his guffaws.

"Did you hear anything Sookie?" Bill asked, ignoring my question entirely. He didn't look amused at all, in fact he was eyeing my neck with a look of complete concern. Very gently I raised my fingertips of my free hand to my bruised flesh only to feel the pain intensify.

"I'm not sure," I replied honestly. He'd died just as I passed out and through the convoluted mess that had been mine and the Were's minds.

"What do you mean?" Eric asked, all traces of his amusement from seconds ago completely gone. So he didn't know anything about my telepathy.

"Sookie is very good at picking up on body language and emotions. A very blond eyebrow was risen in response, clearly not believing anything that Bill had just said.

"Sookie?"

"There's something that you need to know about me. I have a bit of a 'gift'," I started out, even using air quotes. He made motions with his hand to continue talking. "I'm a telepath, I can read minds."

"Can you read mine?" His tone was grave and deep, stone faced enough that I couldn't make out much emotion apart from that he was very serious about something.

"No. Vampires are completely blank to me, everything else I can read. Human's are the easiest, supes are hazy and it gets worse the more powerful they are." I explained fully, but also giving the summarised version.

"Did you hear anything?" He got straight to the point. I think I actually liked it. "Anything in relation to your brother?"

I shook my head at the last question, hoping that he would understand my response. "I didn't hear anything about Jason, but I did hear something."

"What was that?"

"I heard a name, I think it's the name of who sent him."

"Who?" He asked, leaning forward with anticipation as he did so.

"Calvin."

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**So what did you think? You know I love reviews almost as much as I would love to wake up next to a certain Viking Vampire. Did you guys notice the little 'slip' of the typing I put in here? About the inviting in thing, it may not be strictly true but it fit in with what I had in mind so I hope you don't mind. I think it sort of makes sense anyway. Right, I'm going to bed. Oh before I do, I think Eric needs a hug for the latest True Blood episode, I wish his dream thing would have continued instead of Yvetta interrupting. *shakes head***

**Night guys**


	5. Bruises

**Hello my lovely readers, **

**How are you this evening? I'm very well, I'm snuggled up on my sofa watching the storm that's actually made the Look North news! Not much happens around here lol. My dad's working away this week which is good, I have a better relationship with him when we're not in the same house. Charlaine Harris owns the Southern Vampire Mysteries before I forget. Less action in this one I'm afraid, more talking and interaction between the two. Lots of Eric as well which I hope you like, I'm having a lot of fun writing his character. Anyway, on with the update!**

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"Wait!" I called out immediately after the name had left my lips. Both vampires looked up at me expectantly, probably thinking that I'd had some great revelation in my memory. I hadn't, at least not in the sense that they were thinking. "Did you say there were two dead bodies down stairs?" I shrieked as their earlier words finally sunk into my conscious mind.

"Well, not any more, they've been buried of course." Eric replied before Bill could speak, even though he'd opened his mouth. His lips were quivering with trying to control the grin that was threatening to take over his face. I still amused him apparently, more so with each passing minute. I had the distinct feeling that it wasn't necessarily the best place to be in. Although, it was better than irritating him or boring him. Boring people are missed less.

"What?"

"We couldn't leave bodies lying around and most people don't believe that Were's exist so we can't call the cops, to them it would look like two vampires killed two people. If they looked closely at the bodies though, that would cause even more problems; they would know that they weren't completely human, even though they were in human form." Bill explained further, using a soft tone that he thought would help keep me calm. It did to a certain extent.

"Please tell me you cleaned up after them," I pleaded, thinking of all the mess that would ensue from a dying body. They may not show it in TV shows or the movies but all the muscles in the body relax completely, leaving no control behind. The vampires looked at each other, not saying a word which was answer enough. "I expect each of you to clear up the mess downstairs; I'm not smelling engrained excrement in the wood for weeks. You put the bodies there, you can clean the mess." I stated with confidence and once again my arms found themselves folded across my chest.

"You expect _me_ to clean up?" Eric asked looking directly at me, an incredulous expression clear on his face. I'd never seen a vampire show this much emotion, they tended to be stone faced and unreadable.

"Yes," I replied with a straight face.

"I don't clean."

"You do in my house." I stopped the conversation there by standing up from the bed, wobbling much less than I anticipated and walking across my bedroom to the en suite bathroom where I promptly shut the door.

I sat down on the edge of the bath tub, letting the cold metal seep through my skin and cool down my burning flesh. Emotions were swirling around my body, continuing on before I could really latch on to a particular one. I was completely exhausted, both physically and mentally. I wasn't sure just how much more of this I could take but I knew I would, I had to for my brother. I'd been so sure that I would find something out tonight when we finally got here. He'd called me twice from my house but we'd only found shifters inside my house. I knew one thing at least; there was definitely a supernatural influence into his disappearance. And, thanks to my telepathy, I knew someone named Calvin was involved. Unfortunately, Calvin is quite a popular name.

I sighed after a few minutes, knowing that the vampires wouldn't be content to sit and wait for me for very long. I stood, took the single pace to the sink and began washing my face, letting the cool water soothe me and the tender flesh on my neck. That's when I looked in the mirror and couldn't believe that the face reflected there was actually me. My long blond hair was hanging in rat's tails around my face, my make up was completely responded so that I closely resembled a panda and my eyes were bright red from the trauma of crying so much. The worst thing though were the bruises that were decorating my entire neck, each one was a different shade so that I had a complete palette of greens, blues and purples across my flesh.

Slowly my finger tips reached up and traced the edges of the bruises where it hurt least to make sure it was really me that I was staring at. Somehow the reflection mirrored me exactly and I was forced to admit that this was what I really looked like. Carefully I pulled up the dress so that I could look at my stomach where I'd first been grabbed. There were little holes in the dress, the edges of which were crusty and caked, with blood or grim I just couldn't quite tell. The answer was waiting for me on my flat stomach as I saw little half moon indentations near my belly button that were scabbed over already. Groaning, I let the material fall back down before leaning forward onto the sink.

"Bill!" I called out and almost instantly there was a little knock on the door followed by Bill's pale face peeking around the wooden door.

"What's wrong?" He asked me, wisely not actually questioning why I was bent over the sink. My muscles began to quiver and I knew I had to pull myself together quickly. I was strong and I didn't give up.

"Can you get me a change of clothes and a towel? I need to change and shower." I turned my head towards him and offered him a weak smile as thanks before adding, "The drawers and the chest," as an explanation of where to find things. I turned back to look at the sink but I closed myself so that I could truly concentrate on deep, even breaths.

"She's been though a lot tonight, she'll prefer these." Eric's deep voice cut through my internal silence and he instantly piqued my attention because he was obviously talking about me.

"How would you know? I've known her longer; these are some of her favourite items of clothing." Bill replied and I could imagine him shrugging his shoulders and barely suppressing an eye roll as he stared back at the other vampire.

"Maybe so, but I know women. She'll want comfort clothes; take the ones that I put on the bed." Eric's voice grew more distant and I heard the bedroom door shut a few seconds later. Just as I was wondering how the hell Eric had known that I'd want my comfiest clothes there was a small knock before a pale hand extended out a small pile of cloth.

"Here you go," Bill's smooth voice came from behind the door, only slightly muffled.

"Thanks."

I grabbed the pile of clothes and towels only to throw them on top of the small vanity in the bathroom that I didn't really keep anything in. I didn't waste any time in getting in the shower, the vampires could just wait since I'd seen myself in the mirror, and I let the spray massage my muscles, covering my body in warmth. All too soon the water began to run cold and I was forced to get out, dressed and return to my waiting companions.

"How are you feeling?" Bill asked as soon as I stepped foot into my bedroom. He was lounging in the same place as earlier and the book I'd been reading at night was laid on his lap near the beginning. I hoped he'd remembered my page because it was just plain weird to start reading someone else's book, and it was a romance.

"Honestly? Like the cat just dragged me in. But we need to continue to talk. Where's Eric?" I was wearing yoga pants, a large Old Navy fleece jumper and fluffy slipper socks, I was completely snuggled up. I couldn't believe this is what Eric had chosen to give me. The way he'd been looking at me I would have thought he would have handed me underwear and that'd be it if I was lucky, of course very nice underwear had been in the pile. I guess I'd never find out which one it was that had chosen that. I shook my head to clear it of my unimportant thoughts and walked across my room to the door.

"He's in the kitchen," was Bill's informative response so when I exited my room I turned right.

"What _are_ you doing?" I asked as soon as I was in the kitchen, my eyes wide at the scene before me. Eric was stood at the kitchen sink without a shirt on scrubbing at something that was hidden from view. The dust pan and brush, rags and disinfectant were stacked on the floor next to him, but I barely glanced at those at the time. His broad white shoulders were on full view and the muscles danced underneath his skin as his arms scrubbed away. He was impressive and I found there was a tug low in my stomach, even though I shouldn't be thinking of such things at a time like this. For another thing, I was completely exhausted already.

"You said we should clean, I am." My mouth actually gaped a little at his statement which was accompanied by a glorious shrug of those massive shoulders. I couldn't believe he'd actually listened to me though, I had thought I'd be forced to clean everything up. Of course, those two would have to get rid of the bodies, that I definitely couldn't do. This did remind me, there were two vampires involved in this.

"Why isn't Bill helping you? Has he done anything?" I picked up the disinfectant and placed it back in the under stairs cupboard where it belonged along with the dust pan and brush. The rags though, judging by the stench, were only fit for the outside rubbish bin.

"No. The body outside is buried; the wood has been sprayed with the hose, then disinfectant. Your living room carpet has been mopped up, scrubbed and sprayed. That's all I'm doing, you're lucky you amuse me." He turned his head at that point and flashed me a broad grin showing me that for some reason his fangs were run down again. I couldn't stop the gulp.

"Thank-you," I managed to stutter out before putting the rags in a rubbish bag before taking them out to the screened off back area of the porch.

"We need to talk," Eric called to me as I entered back into the house and I nodded in response, it's what I'd said only a few minutes ago but I still wasn't any happier with the prospect. "Bill!" He called loudly, using an authoritative tone that I hadn't heard yet, it was clear that Eric was some form of boss; he was definitely older than Bill. I couldn't quite tell how but I just got the feeling from him that he'd seen centuries in the world and that he was just an old soul. You can say what you like about vampires and their souls, I think they keep them. "Help me with the other body." Bill nodded and turned on his heels to go to the living room instead of turning into the kitchen. Eric left whatever was in the sink soaking and followed Bill.

A few moments later I heard the sounds of heavy movement and the back door closed loudly. I could ask where they were going but that could only lead me into more trouble if I was ever asked by anyone else about this. At least this way I could honestly reply that I didn't know where the bodies were. I dipped my hands into the cold water of the sink and found that it was the black t-shirt that he'd been wearing earlier, the one with the deliciously low cut v for the collar. The water was a dark brown colour from where blood had come out of it but I didn't let my mind wander on how it had gotten there, I just picked it up and popped it into the washer for a proper wash. Then, not knowing how long they were going to be I made myself something to eat and a relaxing cup of Yorkshire Tea.

"What is that smell?" The words made me jump out of my seat I was so startled by being suddenly joined. The smell belonged to Bill who was walking into the kitchen where I was somehow still seated at the table. His expression was one of disgust but I simply couldn't smell anything, nothing nasty at least.

"Excuse me?" I asked, wondering at his rudeness. He was raised a southern gentleman.

"It's just food, don't you miss it?" Eric asked walking in only a few paces behind Bill, still without a shirt and it didn't seem to bother him at all. His nipples were only a few shades darker than his snowy white skin which literally glowed to my eyes.

"No." I finally realised that Bill was carrying a bag and he continued to get out two bottles of True Blood and place them in the microwave to warm up.

"I miss it at times, I used to love food. Especially the feasts after battle, they were something to look forward to." I was staring at him, wondering why he was telling us so much. I was still ogling his chest which was comprised of hard packed muscles, his stomach was the same with fine lines that defined a six pack that would never becomes deep ridges. It was exactly the way I liked it though. "I'm a Viking," he added after a few seconds, obviously having caught me staring. "We could feast and battle with the best, I needed to be in good shape and we love being naked," he said with a wink which turned into a broad grin as a deep blush crept across my cheeks.

"Your shirt is in the drier, it might be finished now." I replied with a pointed look towards the back door. He sent me an even broader grin before turning around to hopefully fetch the shirt.

When the microwave dinged I got up, put my empty dishes in the sink and got the bottles of True Blood out, setting them on the table. The vampires both obediently sat down in a chair each before turning to look at me expectantly. Well, that wasn't any good. I was about to ask them about the way forward from here.

"Do you have any idea, specifics, of who could have taken your brother?" Eric asked after he'd taken a rather large gulp of blood, the redness was showing between his teeth. At least his fangs were retracted now.

"Nothing really, I just gathered it was supernatural. My brother is a big guy, it would take a lot to keep him contained anywhere. And what with he's been getting into recently. The name I got though, I don't know anyone called Calvin, there are a few, of course, in town but I don't think my brother knows any of them well. At least not well enough to make an enemy out of them."

"It's nearing dawn," Bill stated after we'd all been silent for a few minutes, stewing on what I'd said.

"Fight the sleep for a bit," Eric replied easily, not even bothering to glance his way.

"I need to get to my resting place; it's across the cemetery from here." A dismissive hand was waved, telling Bill to go but I got up to pay my thanks. The sky outside was beginning to turn blue from the black and by the looks of things; the sun would breach the horizon in less than an hour.

"Thank-you," I told Bill earnestly before reaching my arms up a little to give him a massive hug around the neck. He wasn't very tall for a man, barely above average height for a woman nowadays but I imagine he would have been average for his time. That put Eric in a class of his own, if he was a Viking he would be around a thousand years all yet he was tall even by today's standards.

"You're welcome Sookie, I shall see you tomorrow." I pulled back so that I could smile at him to find it mirrored in his face. Before I could blink he placed a sweet kiss on my forehead. "Sleep well." Then he turned quickly and left, closing the door softly behind him.

"Then there were two. How many Calvin's do you think they're are in the area?" He popped his feet up on the chair that Bill had just vacated whilst his arm that wasn't holding the bottle was slung over the back of another chair; he looked completely relaxed in my little kitchen.

"About five maybe, then there's the surrounding towns and villages, we're pretty close to a few. Hotshot which is probably the shortest has two, then there are all the other places. I mean, he visits a lot because he says this town is boring."

"That does complicate things somewhat. Any of them at all that you find suspicious?" He drained the bottle after he'd spoken this time and actually sighed before standing up to grab another from the bag that Bill had left behind. "I wish he'd stock better, it's pretty vile stuff."

"No one, like I said, I don't know them well enough. I'd say the ones out at Hotshot but I think that's just because there's a little animosity between Bon Temps and their village. I doubt there'd really be anything in it." He was now leaning against the counter top with his legs crossed at the ankles and large arms folded across his chest, making the material of his shirt strain. "Why do you drink the stuff if it's so disgusting?"

"Okay, I'll still check into all the people that I can find within the area. I'll start off ten mile radius from the centre of Bon Temps and extend out from there if I get nothing. I drink it because I'm hungry and I need some nutrition. Unless of course you're willing to be a kind donor?"

"No." I replied blankly. "What should I do whilst you do that?"

"It won't take very long; I should have it done by tomorrow, or rather this, evening." He must have noticed my perplexed look because he chuckled lightly before continuing on with an explanation. "I may be asleep during the day but I have humans who work for me. Don't worry, they're willing and I pay generously, they'll be able to do some research for me." That little speech reminded me of something rather important. Bill had gone home so that he wouldn't be caught in the sun and he only lived across the cemetery. Eric lived over in Shreveport somewhere, at least I imagined he lived there since that's where his bar was, but the drive was nearly an hour. He would never make it before sunrise.

"Where are you planning on staying the day?" My voice was getting raspier and my throat more painful as the minutes passed. I was holding on until I could finally crawl into bed though, I only had a few pain killers in the house as I was usually in very good health and I knew they would pretty much knock me out as soon as I'd take them.

"Here."

"What?" I responded, too shocked to be able to come up with something more eloquent.

"Don't look like that; I'm being innocent for once. You have a spare room with a walk in closet; it will do fine as long as I barricade the doors and window."

"Oh." I replied and I couldn't deny that I was a slight bit disappointed by the fact that he wasn't joining me. I would love for a man to be able to keep me warm at night, well a vampire wouldn't really keep me warm but the intentions are the same. Telepathy ruins relationships; you can forever hear what the other person is saying. Needless to say I'd never had a boyfriend, and I wasn't someone that would involve me physically with someone with not commitment. Also, you can't do anything like that without hearing your partner's thoughts. I couldn't read a vampire's thoughts though, they were blissful silence.

"Would you prefer if I joined you?" He was leering again and I couldn't deny that my heart picked up pace a little bit.

"No."

"Well, I'm going to retire for the day, make sure the room is secure. I shall see you this evening. You should get a lot of sleep, you'll probably need it. I've heard that honey in tea helps with sore throats." Where the hell had he heard that? He hadn't need food, or been able to eat, in a millennia. "If you change your mind and want some company, knock on the door, I'm sure I'll wake up." He placed the empty bottles of synthetic blood in the sink and began to walk out of the door without a look back. He did start pulling his shirt over his head whilst he was still in view, giving me a good look at his rippling muscles which caused some strategic muscles on my own to do some jumping.

I was tucked up in my own bed within five minutes after I'd checked all the windows and doors to make sure they were locked. I downed a couple of Tylenol and curled up underneath my covers with a hot water bottle just to make my bed more snuggley. I was asleep within moments, in the bliss of a deep, dreamless sleep.

It was already passed lunch time when I awoke, feeling much better in general but my throat was throbbing like mad. Stretching my now much relaxed muscles I sat up, swung my legs over the bed and padded towards the bathroom. I was feeling much more optimistic this morning than I had last night; I hadn't found my brother but I knew he was alive now and I had a name to go with. It was a start and it was more than what the police were doing. I busied myself with breakfast which was more like an afternoon snack before getting dressed and heading out the door.

My little old car whirred us to the shops and back where I stocked up on True Blood, buying a couple of cases of the stuff that Bill had brought over last night and a case of a rare blood group which the label said was just like the real thing. I just hoped that Eric would be able to tolerate it more because he certainly wasn't getting a drink from me. I picked up my own groceries as well whilst I was there, dropped off a couple of books at the library before making my way home. I was in the library car park when I noticed that the sky was beginning to darken and, according to the weather forecast, it was still a good two hours until true sunset.

I'd just pulled out of the car park when big splodges of rain began to pelt the windscreen. My home was silent when I made it up to the porch, leaving my car unlocked as I'd only been able to carry about half of my things up to the house in one trip. The clouds had erupted during my drive back home and massive rain drops were drenching everything in sight. "Eurgh," I moaned as a horribly cold droplet ran down my back, managing to get between my collar and hair. I got the back door open, placed the bags on the table and ran back out of the door to fetch the rest. If it was at all possible the rain was even worse in the few seconds that I'd not been watching it.

By the time I had all of my bags, the car and door locked I was completely soaked. There'd been no sign of the rain at all when I first set out so I hadn't been wearing my rain coat. At least it explained why the sky was dark so soon before sunset. I shook my head, letting my hair fall in wet tendril around my shoulders. The groceries were put away quickly and an uncapped bottle of True Blood in the microwave ready for Eric before I realised I really would have to get changed. I couldn't cope with the wet jeans clinging to my thighs and a chill was beginning to set in my flesh.

Once in my bedroom I pulled out a thick, long sleeved t-shirt in black with red piping along with another pair of dark blue skinny jeans. Even if they got wet I wouldn't really be able to tell if they were sticking to my legs. It was as I was pealing my wet jeans off, sat on the edge of the bed to do so, that I heard what sounded like a footstep coming from down the hall. I lived alone, I rarely got visitors, no one got a key and my vampire wouldn't be up for about an hour. I gulped back the fear that was beginning to creep up from my stomach and quickly chucked the jeans off. My fresh clothes were pulled on quickly and I silently made my way to the door.

I grabbed the nearest thing I could that I could use to defend myself; a bag of hardback books that I'd bought at the weekend at someone's yard sale. At least it was heavy and if I had enough time I could get a decent swing with it. My eyes slid shut and I counted my breaths, gearing up the courage to open my door. After only a few seconds I slowly pulled my bedroom door open, thankful that I hadn't locked it due to the noise. Once open a couple of inches I peered around the gap to find an empty hallway.

Thud. Something had hit the floor and it sounded heavy. I cursed myself mentally before sending out my nets to pick up any brain patterns. My telepathy doesn't work as well when I'm stressed, I have less control over it and I could only detect the blank area that signified Eric and he was still safely tucked away in my old bedroom. Another step indicated by the creaking of a floor board and it sounded closer, coming from near the bathroom or bedroom.

"Shit," I whispered almost silently. At least the pain killers were still working on my throat. I pulled my door open further, enough to slip through and I began to tip toe down the hallway until I was stood between the doorways to the bathroom and the bedroom. I couldn't decide which door to open first; the vampire slept behind one and I wasn't sure if the indirect light from the hall would do any damage and behind the other I was more confident that there was nothing.

What decided it for me was the metallic ringing of something hitting the taps of the sink in the bathroom. I flung the door open before I had chance to think, my arm already drawn back ready to swing down on any attacker. "Oh my."

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**So what did you think? You know I love reviews almost as much as I would love to be joined by a Viking Vampire in well anything, I'd be happy to have a vampire by my side. So what do you think she's found? Hehe, I seem to be liking little cliff hangers this time around. I just want to say thank-you to everyone who's favourited or story alerted this piece, it makes me happy and an even bigger thank-you to those of you who are reviewing. *hugs***


	6. Towel

**Hello!**

**Here's another update, aren't I kind to you guys? I had a very fun day today; hanging out with my mates having a film fest. Picture this if you will; a room of ten eighteen year olds gathered round eating popcorn and watching The Princess and the Frog (which is absolutely fantastic by the way) followed closely by Road to El Dorado and finally The Beauty and the Beast. We sat and watched all three, including the four guys that were with us. I'll not bore you with anymore, Charlaine Harris owns the wonderful Southern Vampire Mysteries, on with the update!**

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My eyes widened with what I saw before me and I couldn't take a breath because I was doing a very good impression of a fish.

"See anything you like?" Eric's deep voice broke the silence that had enveloped me since I'd first gasped out. He was stood wearing only a towel that was held up only because he was leaning forward against the sink. It was clinging so very low on his hips that I could make out the deep v that the muscles formed, that lead down and down, but not giving me enough of a view. Pale hair lead from his belly button, teasing me further. His hair was soaking and trailing half way down his back. He was simply gorgeous in a very masculine way that I'd never seen before.

"Sorry," I mumbled meaning to turn around and close the door behind me before I did something that I'd really regret, yet I still didn't move. The sink was full of soapy water and a razor he must have found in the mirror cupboard was balanced near the taps. That explained the metallic ringing I'd heard, although none of the rest of it. Of course, my mind was stuck on why a vampire was shaving in the first place because that's of course what he was doing. There were residual bits of soap around the edges of his hairline.

After a few seconds he grinned at me, his fangs run down again, before turning around so that his back was to me. The towel, which I was seriously considering developing a new shrine for, dropped onto his hips and was removed completely when he caught it haphazardly in one hand, giving me the first glimpse of that wonderful bottom of his. The only way I can think of to describe it, and believe me this doesn't do it any justice at all, was simultaneously making my mouth water, my stomach tighten in a wonderful way and want to grasp it in both hands tightly, possibly using my nails a little. Whilst I was still staring I he scrubbed at his face with the same towel and I was snapped out of my little day dream by the jerking motion.

I spun on my heel and ran to the safety of my own bedroom. The lock was flicked on as soon as the door was shut and my back pressed against it, breathing heavily in the same movement. This was the last thing I needed at this time; I needed to concentrate on my brother and my body was betraying me with naughty sensations over a dead man. The last little bit, the dead part, didn't really bother me though. I wasn't normal and they weren't either. After a few minutes my breathing had returned to normal, my heart was at a nearly normal rhythm and I thought I was once again in control of my own body. Shaking my head to clear the residual thoughts I stood up, unlocked the door and prepared to face the tormenting that was sure to ensue.

The kitchen was blissfully empty though when I entered and I set about getting a sandwich in peace, it wasn't long though until it was broken. Eric padded in, barefoot and shirtless, walking straight up to the microwave and setting it to heat up one of the bottles. I couldn't help but notice that his jeans were decidedly snug and looked a little different, only dark wash instead of black, than the ones he was wearing yesterday. I might as well start the conversation, I doubted it would last much longer anyway; keeping silent would only delay the teasing.

"Where did you get all the stuff from?" I asked and my voice remained fairly constant although a little frail from injured throat. That's what I told myself anyway.

"I keep a bag with enough things in for a couple of days in the car. I got it last night before I went to bed." That explained why his car was now parked up near the house, fully locked, instead of half way down the drive with a door open. I'd rationalised the other things too; he must have showered whilst I was getting the things from the car or whilst I was out which was why he was in the bathroom already. The bathroom and bedroom had a shared wall so in a fearful state it would be fairly easy to misplace one brain signature.

"How come you're up so early?" I asked whilst I looked out of the kitchen window whose curtains were still open as I didn't usually bother shutting them. It's not like I have neighbours anyway.

"I'm old Sookie, older than you can probably, truly imagine. As vampires get older they get more power so we can stay awake and rise earlier. The storm helped too, darker skies mean a hidden sun so its power over my kind is lessened."

"Oh," was my eloquent reply.

"I have some news on the name," he took the blood out of the microwave and sat at the table in the chair opposite mine. I raised my eyebrows since my mouth was now full of a bite of my snack. His eyes followed my every movement intently and it was a heavy swallow as I became uncomfortable.

"Am I making you uncomfortable?" I asked cautiously, not sure what the etiquette would be in this case.

"No, I loved food when I was human. It fascinates me and it's fascinating to watch someone eat." He watched as I took another tentative bite before continuing with his news. "There are four people named Calvin within the area that are at all possible. There are three others but they are all under the age of 15 so I ruled them out as all members of their families are present and correct." That was something that had never occurred to me; the name wasn't necessarily who had sent the Were but a loved one instead, if it was his child it would be almost natural for his last thought to be of him. "Two of the others are over the age of 60 which again makes them less likely and of course there's the two over in Hotshot."

"What do you think we should do?"

"I think we should go pay these people a little visit, ask a few general questions and see if we can peak anything up, you can keep an ear open." He gently laid the tip of one of his index fingers on the centre of my forehead, indicating exactly how he meant I could listen. "We'll start with the people in Bon Temps itself since they are nearest then go on out to Hotshot." I nodded my head in acknowledgement, it was actually a rather good plan and I wasn't likely to get into too much trouble with a vampire by my side.

"Are you sure you're okay doing this for me?" As I was saying the words I thought I could be getting myself into trouble and having to do more favours for him but he was giving up a lot of his time for very little reward. Now, I may not know vampires very well but I know them better than most people and they don't do anything for free. "I mean, you were cleaning yesterday."

"Don't worry about it, at least not yet. You amuse me which is worth my time; the bar doesn't truly need me there as much as I am. The cleaning however will never be done again; I'd never done it before in my life. It's a good job you were injured due to one of us or it wouldn't have happened."

"Thank-you."

"I'd rather forget about that little bit. How long until you're ready?" He asked, changing the subject completely. His eyes scanned my body up and down as I'd stood up to go and get a glass of water.

"I can be ready in five minutes, I just have to get my shoes and bag." My minimal make-up had been applied earlier in the day and it thank-fully hadn't been ruined by the rain, it seemed I'd finally found some make up that was actually water proof. My hair would need a brush running through it again too.

"Okay." With that he stood up, stretched his arms about his head giving me a few view of how his muscles tensed before walking from the room to the guest bedroom. He knew exactly what he was doing to me and exactly what had happened in the bathroom. I'm not sure which one I preferred; incessant teasing verbally or incessant teasing physically. I think the physical version; at least there was an upside to this form.

Just like I'd said I was ready within five minute; my hair was pulled up into a pony tail so that it wouldn't look too ridiculous if it got wet, my boots were on and I was snuggled inside my coat. Eric, however, was nowhere to be seen but I could hear him moving some things around in the guest room, what he was doing in there though was completely beyond me and I didn't particularly want to investigate further. It was while I was contemplating his antics that I realised I hadn't called Bill to tell him what we were doing; he might even want to accompany us. Surely if we split up we could get more information much faster.

"I'm going to get Bill," I called out loudly so my voice would filter through the wooden door. Then I turned around, strode out of the back door and began trudging across the mud of the cemetery to Bill's house. The rainfall, which had lessened to a drizzle had turned the hard ground into a field of mud that squelched up around my boots with every step. As soon as I was able to without adding a large distance onto the walk I stepped onto Bill's drive that I couldn't help but notice was in much better condition than mine. The gravel made my progress quicker and within moments I was at the big front door and knocking.

I waited patiently with my hands buried inside my pockets for a few minutes only to receive no answer. More knocking got the same results. "Bill!" I called out, knowing that with his vampire senses he would be able to hear me shout his name from anywhere in the house. Again there was nothing and I noticed that the animals, hidden in the trees and grass, were actually making a little bit of noise. This vampire wasn't home. "Just great." I huffed as I turned around and ran smack into a stone hard chest.

"What are you doing out here on your own?" Eric's deep voice asked, breaking the silence that had suddenly covered the clearing. How he'd gotten here without the critters knowing I just didn't know.

"Coming to get Bill, I told you before I left." I'd taken a step back and I could actually see the blue of his eyes glistening with what looked like at least a little bit of concern. That was worrying.

"Yes, but I thought you'd be smart and take the car, not trudge across the cemetery on your own. He isn't home anyway." My face must have shown my questions because before I could speak he was talking again. "Weres were in your home yesterday looking for something, we killed two of them. They'll be looking for a bit of vengeance if they're anything like I think they are. You're Jason's brother too, if they have him, they may take you for leverage. Don't go anywhere on your own. Also, I can hear nothing from in the house; even vampires at rest make some form of noise." What noise he was talking about I didn't bother asking, I just took it as the truth.

He turned around with that and began walking, with long legged strides, towards my home. His long blond hair was dry and flowing down his back, it was shining in the moonlight and I couldn't help but notice just how pale he was. He was like the polar opposite of Bill who I'd always had a little crush on. Bill was the almost typical tall, dark and handsome, the only problem was that that he was technically dead. His hear was dark, sometimes looking as though it was verging on black and although pale, in the luminous way that vampires had, he was still had more pallor than most vampires I'd seen. He was gentle, tender, passionate and at times almost kind although the vampire was always there, lurking beneath his skin.

On the other hand Eric was a blond God of epic proportions, I'd only recently found that out though. I was attracted to him on a very basic, guttural way that I hadn't realised I could actually withhold. He was tall, so very tall, strong, muscular and had a face that I don't think I'd ever tire of looking at. I was also beginning to find out that the exterior held a complex personality that I just couldn't fathom. He was scary and brutal, but seemingly fair on most levels. In the day that I'd actually known him he'd shown me violence, protectiveness, humour (a rare trait in the undead), practicality and much more.

I shook my head, a soon becoming habit of mine around the two vampires, and took off after him. I actually had to jog a little to catch up with his fast pace but I kept my head down, watching where I was putting my feet so that I didn't become more acquainted with the ground.

"How did you actually get here? The animals were still chirping and things until a split second before I ran into you."

"I flew." I stood still in my tracks as his words sunk in.

"What?" I gasped as I began picking up my pace again when I realised he was already ten yards ahead.

"I flew, I'm actually quite talented at it, most vampires can hover a little, some look like chickens trying to flutter."

"You can fly?" I asked again and I felt like I was a stuck record.

"Yes." He sounded exasperated and before I could ask anything else, I couldn't say that I didn't believe him because I had no reason not to; it was just really hard to comprehend. Right before my eyes he suddenly began to rise until he was at least ten feet in the air before moving forward at the same pace he'd been walking at.

"Wow," I gasped, standing still once again.

"Are you coming?" He asked not bothering to disguise his laughter. He hovered in the air, waiting for me to start walking again and catch up before returning to ground and walking beside me.

"Can all vampires fly? I know you said not everyone's good at it." We'd reached the beginning of the cemetery by this point and the conversation was keeping my mind occupied from the mud that was beginning to stain the bottom of my jeans.

"To a certain extent. It's usually developed over time so newborns can't. I discovered I could at about a century, I've been getting better ever since."

"Can Bill fly?"

"It's a poor and pathetic excuse for it, but yes." I nodded in response, my eyes still downcast.

"What do we do now that Bill isn't joining us?" He seemed to mull over the question for some reason and whilst the silence stretched between us we passed by Bill's tomb stone that I gave an affectionate pat.

"We continue with the plan, he could have speeded things up but we'll manage. It's still early; we have about three hours until it's socially unacceptable." How the hell did he know about things that are socially unacceptable? The guy was completely discombobulating.

"I could go to a couple of places on my own to speed things up," I suggested as we were nearing my home.

"No. We've discussed this; it could be very dangerous for you. I'm not letting you out of my sight." He'd become very protective and I couldn't figure it out; we'd only just met. "It won't really speed things up anyway; you have the best method of getting information. I may have no problem with using my influence but it isn't the best situation, some people become very confused afterwards. You also know better about the information we need."

"You left my house unlocked?" I asked in a bit of a shrill voice as I walked up the back porch steps and found the back door only pulled to.

"Yes, you ran off. It didn't do much good yesterday anyway." I huffed heavily instead of replying and grabbed my purse off of the hall table, my car keys and walked out of the back door to wait on the porch. He followed me out after only a couple of seconds and walked calmly over to my little old car. I locked up and joined him, only to have the keys taken out of my hand so fast that I didn't even have time to fight back. "I'm driving, I'll be faster."

I couldn't actually disagree with that, I'd never been moving as fast as the drive from Shreveport to Bon Temps. Still disgruntled though I clambered into the passenger seat and fastened my seat belt, by this point we'd already begun the trek down the drive to the parish road. "Sorry about the drive way," I mumbled, feeling embarrassed at the amount of jostling that my car was doing; it hadn't been this bad last night in Eric's fancy, new car. He didn't say anything in response which was probably for the best; he only inclined his head towards me slightly in acknowledgement that he'd heard.

As though he knew the area like the back of his hand he tuck the turns without any stalling, even using a couple of short cuts until we pulled up outside of the first house. "Who's this?" I asked whilst looking at the new building in front of us. It was two storeys; the bottom two thirds were made of red brick, the rest was wooden. It was obviously a family home though; a seven-seater was parked in the drive way and toys were littering the front garden, there was even a swing set with a special section for a baby.

"This is Calvin Broussard who lives here with his wife and two children, he's not a likely candidate but he's the closest to your home."

"And our cover story?" I asked but I was talking to an empty car as he was already walking around the front to open my door for me.

"Oh come along honey, can't you guess?" He replied, a big grin across his face, and his voice had taken on a Southern accent that seemed more authentic than mine. All I could do was shake my head and sigh.

"Hello?" A man answered with a small child clinging at his pants' leg after we'd answered.

"Hello, I was wondering if we could talk to you for a few minutes. My girlfriends' brother..." Even though he'd basically said so whilst I was still in the car, I had a hard time keeping my face straight, it was a good job that I'd hard years of practice in schooling my face. "Has gone missing, over a week ago now. The last thing we heard from him was on the phone, he said he was going to meet someone named Calvin, so we're talking to all the Calvin's in the area." I'd managed to get a slightly fearful look in my eyes, making them large and entire face innocent, my arms folded across my stomach defensively.

"Oh, I'm so sorry about the situation." He paused slightly before saying the last word, as though he was thinking through his choices. "Please come in, although I doubt if I know anything, my family is pretty much everything." We nodded and followed the man, who was only in his mid-twenties, into the house and shut the door softly behind us. We were led into a comfortable living room where the child ran away from his father to play behind the sofa, obviously a little troubled by strangers.

"Do you know Jason Stackhouse?" I asked once we were seated on the sofas. Eric's large hand was clutching my little one supportively and to anyone looking at us we would appear like a rather distraught couple, trying to get a loved one back. It still shocked me though that Eric was recognised as a vampire on sight, they stood out so differently to me and not just because their minds were blank.

"Not really," the man started, running a hand through the floppy sandy hair that was a mess on top of his hand. His eyes had bags underneath and there was a little stubble on his chin. He was tired from his family; there were signs of another two kids. "I know of him, works the road crews round these parts, goes into Merlotte's a lot. Hey, isn't that where you work?" His eyes latched onto me as he finally placed where he recognised him from. Everything he was telling me was the absolute truth; I was reading it all straight from his mind.

"Yes, I'm a waitress there."

"I don't think I've ever had a conversation with him, just seen him around town."

"Have you heard anything about hum? Rumours or gossip. I'm sorry for these questions, but we're getting a little desperate." Eric spoke, sounding as nonthreatening as a six foot plus guy who looked like he could take on a rugby squad could.

"Don't worry about it; I couldn't imagine what it's like having someone disappear. I have two brothers myself. Let's think." He paused a minute and lines and lines of thoughts flashed through his head.

_He got himself that pretty little red head, that pretty blond, brunette and that girl that was eight years younger. I wish I could do stuff like that. No, I don't, I'm happy. Mind you, she's quite pretty, I wish I could help her. There was that Mrs Fortenbury talking about the trouble he'd got her son into with that Norris guy, his truck that was apparently rear ended a couple of weeks back. _

"Just the girlfriend issues, being friends with Hoyt and his truck get hit a little a couple of weeks back. I'm sorry I can't help you." We were being dismissed and I really couldn't blame the guy; we'd knocked on his door at night asking suspicious questions, interrupting his evening.

"Come on sweetheart. Thank-you for your time." Eric pulled on my hand, helping me to stand and only seconds later we were walking down the garden path to the car. "Did you pick up anything?" He held the car door open for me and I proceeded to climb in as graciously as possible.

"I'm not sure," I replied honestly but I was stopped in my tracks. A large hand lay across my cheek to turn my head towards Eric where I found I was staring into his eyes from only a few inches away.

Before I could question what was happening, he leaned down and pressed his lips against mine. Softly his lips moved against mine, moving in a slow movement getting me to respond which I did. My hands reached up and lay on his arm only to follow them up to his shoulders and grasp the back of his neck, making sure that he didn't pull away. My eyes had fluttered closed at first contact and they remained lightly shut. My lips moved in tandem with his, separating instantly as his tongue brushed against them. Then our tongues were dancing together like we'd been doing this for years and a moan was rising in my throat. All too soon he pulled away.

"He was watching us," he explained, his voice a whisper. Then he placed a chaste kiss on my lips before sitting back completely and starting the engine like nothing had happened. My heart was thumping inside my chest and my breathing was a little shallow; I'd never experienced a kiss like that before in my life. In fact, I'd experienced very, very little in that department before. Telepathy sucks for romance. "What information did you get then?" We were driving down the quiet roads again, en route to the next house.

"He knows about my brothers exploits with women, but then again, who doesn't." That earned me a chuckle and it was obvious that even Eric know about Jason's antics. "The interesting thing was he thought about Mrs Fortenbury; he'd overheard her talking in the supermarket one day, complaining about her son Hoyt, who's my brother's best friend. Jason managed to get the both of them in trouble for something with someone named Norris."

"Do you know anyone named Norris?"

"Well, there's the Mayor but that doesn't really sound right. Jason was brought up to respect his elders, he wouldn't do anything to cause trouble for the Mayor, he was a friend of our grandmother."

"Here, check over this list, see if there's a mention of anyone called Norris." He proceeded to pull a bundle of papers out of his inner jacket pocket and hand them over to me, his eyes never leaving the road.

I took the bundle, which seemed to be able twenty A4 sheets, all printed and I just didn't want to know when he'd had the chance to get a hold of them. Each person named Calvin in the area had their own profile written down on the pages, some had more pages than others but it had information that should have been strictly private and I actually felt a little guilty skim reading it. I found my prize about half way through but it was rather confused later on when I found another mention of a Norris.

"There's two mentions in here." I started out, speaking slowly, still reading the sheets.

"Tell me." His deep voice was doing strange things to my insides, making me almost squirm in my seat in a rather delicious way that I didn't understand. I wasn't entirely sure how I could feel such a way from one kiss, but it had been one hell of a kiss. What was also bothering me though was that I'd always only really fancied one person at once before, with any true feelings and now here I was harbouring feelings for two vampires. I couldn't explain it, but I would have to sort it out, squelch them down or it might become a problem. At least my heart rate and breathing had returned to normal, my lips were still a little plumper though.

"Here, one of the older gentlemen has a son named Norris, who lives out in Shreveport, near your bar actually. He's about Jason's age, could be someone he went to the clubs with there, it's certainly possible this could have something to do with it. This Norris guy has been in trouble with the police before; violence, burglary, GBH."

"The other one?"

"A Mr Calvin Norris lives out in Hotshot. Seems to be a moral citizen though; no criminal record, good job, kids, expecting his first grandchild, seems to be some form of leader in his community too."

"Which one shall we go to first? The older Calvin lives near here, if we're going to go to Shreveport it should probably be tomorrow, we'd never get there for a reasonable time now."

"I think we should go check out Calvin Norris, he seems respectable, but there's something off about Hotshot, I still don't know if it's the Bon Temps rivalry though."

"Hotshot it is."

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**So what did you think? I'm having a lot of fun writing this and I want to say a really big thank-you to everyone that has reviewed, they really make me smile. How much of a triangle do you think I should create between them? I think I might have some fun lol. Thanks again guys, should have another update tomorrow. *hugs***


	7. Eyes

**Hello!**

**Another update, that's seven days in a row, I must really love you guys. So, we got the new dog, Mojo, today! He's an adorable little cutie, ball of fluff and energy. Lu is a little jealous though, he's been cuddlier than normal today. I should post his picture as my profile pic. Anyway, I hope you like this update, it's the longest one so far. Charlaine Harris owns the wonderful Southern Vampire Mysteries and on with the update!**

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"Shifter." We'd been riding in silence for about fifteen minutes, heading out of town towards the little village of Hotshot built around a little used crossroad.

"What?" I'd been lost in thought, contemplating a lot of things that had sent my mind swirling into a broiling pool of convoluted thoughts; my brother, the vampires, Calvin Norris, the other Norris and more. His words had brought my out of my internally monologue suddenly and I hadn't comprehended what he'd said.

"I smell shifter, there's a lot of them been around here." Here was the middle of nowhere, well and truly. We'd left the outskirts of town a couple of minutes ago and Hotshot wasn't even visible on the horizon yet. The only thing around us was trees; probably the perfect place for a shifter to go running on a full moon.

"Can you tell what sort?" I looked around me and I became aware suddenly of the sensation of being watched.

"No, they're strange, they smell similar, yet not the same, as the shifter that accompanied your brother to my bar."

"I feel like I'm being watched," I whispered for some reason, it just felt wrong to speak normally with the feeling that was taking me over.

"We are. There's someone in the trees, I can hear them."

We drove in silence, both of us glancing at the trees that were passing by in a blur, trying desperately to see what was following us. A couple of minutes after the first feeling of being watched I glimpsed something darting between the trees; a tuft of fur streaking between shrubs and trees, weaving in and out in an attempt to keep up. But, as soon as I'd seen the black fur, it was gone, silently passing by.

"There's animals out there," I whispered, my face was basically pressed entirely against the glass trying to see out through the night.

"Yes, the shifters are following us, they can't all keep up. I can't detect enough to find out what animal," Eric whispered back and I noticed for the first time that his deep voice seemed made for whispering, more specifically things whispered in ears in the night.

"Is that important?" Vampires were essentially the strongest supernaturals around and the ones with the least vulnerability. They were truly immortal, the only way they could die was by being killed, they weren't susceptible to any illness and they never aged, stuck for eternity in the body in which they'd been turned. Their weaknesses were few; silver and sunlight, although they also had a strong dislike of garlic. Most things were pure myth; running water, crucifixes and holy water. They could take on every common supernatural creature and win, although true Weres, you can only call a werewolf a Were really, could give them a little trouble.

"Yes, it will decide how careful I have to be." His words were ominous and the now common feeling of sinking was back in my stomach.

"Okay."

"Don't worry; we'll get your brother back." Quick as a blink his hand shot off of the steering wheel to grab one of mine which were both placed in my lap. His hand enveloped mine, giving it a reassuring squeeze before dropping it carefully again, to regain full control of the steering wheel. The gesture was so fast I wasn't entirely sure I'd actually felt it, but the soft set of his eyes let me believe.

Only a few minutes longer and Hotshot was quickly approaching on the horizon, lit up like a beacon from every house. The streets were lined with cars, mainly old, battered trucks as well as a few people that had apparently come out to greet us. The message with that greeting was soon to be discovered. No streetlights were apparent though; the glow seemed to be coming from the windows of the houses that were built so close to the street that from some of them you could step from the door right onto the pavement.

"I can't pass as human here," Eric told me whilst he was slowing down the car so that the engine wasn't whirring painfully. We glided, as much as my car was able, to a stop about a hundred feet away from the waiting crowd which actually only consisted of about ten people, but they were all staring at us. "I don't see the woman Jason was with." He got out of his side, indicating that I should remain where I was, until he'd walked around to my door. He used his vampire speed, at my door before the driver's side door had even fully shut.

"Hello, who are you?" A voice called out across the gap towards us, from the leader of the area for he was standing further forward than the others.

"Eric Northman and Sookie Stackhouse, we come meaning no harm. We are investigating the disappearance of Jason Stackhouse." Eric was speaking formally, not loud but clear so his voice would travel. After a nod from the shifter we began a careful walk towards them, Eric a half pace in front of me, my arm looped onto his. I'm not sure if I was doing it for support or whether Eric had intended for us to do it for some form of unity show.

"Welcome to our home, we will try and aid in any way we can." The man appeared to be in his midforties with pale brown hair cropped close to his head. His eyes were his most startling feature, turning another wise plain face into something more handsome, if you preferred the older gentlemen.

"Hi, I'm Sookie," I said politely once we were standing in front of the man. I offered my hand out, not sure if he would accept the offer as vampires preferred to limit contact.

"Calvin Norris, Miss Stackhouse, now how can we help you?" Calvin raised his other hand, dismissing the crowd I gathered as all but one of the bulkier people left us alone, stood in the middle of the road just before the start of the houses. "Sorry about the drive over, we can never be too careful when the dead are among us." He stared pointedly at Eric who was stood as a guard at my shoulder.

"I understand. We're actually talking to all of the Calvins in the area. My brother has been missing for over a week now and the police aren't doing much at all. I had a call from him yesterday; all I could hear was his distressed breathing and then saying help and Calvin. We don't know the circumstances but I'm getting desperate to have my brother back."

"Don't worry, I'm not offended. I would do the same in your circumstances. Now, I'm afraid we don't invite vampires into our homes around here, you are most welcome to talk in comfort in you wish."

"She doesn't leave my side," Eric stated, his voice flat and emotionless, yet you believed every word he spoke. You really wouldn't want to argue with him.

"Very well."

"Do you know Jason?" I asked, keeping my voice quiet, trying to play as innocent as possible. I wasn't sure if I should play weak in this situation though. At least Eric was pretending to be my boyfriend now that had opened a whole new can of worms that I just didn't need.

"Yes, I've seen him around town, in Merlotte's which is where I also know you from, and he's been known to hang around with a couple of the people from here. "

"Have you seen him recently?" I was back to holding on to Eric's arm that was held tense by his side, I even noticed, when I glanced at him, that his fingers were curved slightly, making talons out of them as though he was expecting a fight.

"I last saw him about two weeks ago, he came to down here with one of his road crews, trying to fix some of the road towards Hotshot. We turned him away, he might as well save him money, we keep maintenance on our own. He was quite polite about it all, as were we, and that was the last time I remember seeing him." He was a shifter, although there was something a little more human about him, he was clearly broadcasting his emotions. I couldn't read clear thoughts, but it was more than what I got from other shifters. He was telling the truth, but if he had been laying Eric would have been able to pick up on the minute signs; change in heartbeat, stance, body language and a little sweating.

"Jason was in my club a few weeks back with a woman whose name I do not know."

"You are the owner of Fangtasia?" Calvin had interrupted the vampire, a move that I wouldn't have considered.

"Yes." His tone was like ice and it sent shivers down my spine that I did the best to hide. "She smelt the same as your people do. Petite, slim, dark blond hair."

"Crystal, she had a date with Jason but I believe that everything seemed to go fine. She was back here by morning and they parted on amiable terms. It was the only date they had though."

"Can we speak to her?" I asked as they were more likely to acquiesce to my request, simply because I wasn't a vampire. I felt lucky Calvin was taking the time to talk to me giving as though I was accompanied by a vampire. I wasn't sure if I would have plucked up the courage to come on my own.

"She's not here actually; she's gone on a trip with her sister to Monroe. She'll be back tomorrow morning, I shall get her to call you, I take it your listed?"

"Yes."

"Good. Then I'm sorry that we can't help you any further." We were being dismissed again and I was sure we could find out more, I had that niggling feeling again that told me there was just something more to discover here.

"Thank-you Mr Norris," I replied sweetly, offering him a smile.

"Please, call me Calvin. If you have any more problems please contact us, in the future it might be safer for you to come alone or call though. Some of the people here don't follow the rules when it comes to vampires."

"Thank-you again." Eric nodded at the man, respecting his authority in this place. I turned around, daring them to show my back and walked to the car. Eric walked by my side, somehow managing to walk almost sideways so that he could continue to watch them until I was safely in the car. He was sat beside me in an instant and the car was reversing into a three point turn before I'd even put my seatbelt on. My little car's engine was revving beyond belief and I thought with dread that she would pack in at any moment.

"Did you pick up anything?" Eric asked once we were out of the area, we'd been followed back to nearly Bon Temps by the same creatures that had followed us in.

"No, he was telling the truth and I can't reader shifter minds like humans." That fact had never bothered me before, it meant that shifter company was very relaxing compared with humans and was one of the reasons I liked working at the bar with Sam so much.

"They're hiding something I think, but he wasn't lying. There was no scent of your brother either, but if its days since he was there it would have blown away by now and if he was brought back there last night, he could have been in the car or through a different way."

"Okay, thank-you for trying. Any idea of what they are yet?"

"No, but I think it may be some form of cat." We were driving through down town Bon Temps by now and we seemed to be heading back towards my house.

"How can you tell?"

"The way they moved, more fluid than the wolves and they aren't powerful enough for a true shifter." A true shifter is like my boss; they can take any animal form they want to, when they want to, although most tend to change into a favourite animal and only usually at the full moon. Sam, the owner of Merlotte's generally turned into a collie dog that I'd affectionately named Dean.

"So what are we doing now?" I couldn't let any form of boredom set in or my mind would begin running and I had no doubt the familiar feeling of desperation would set in, at least now that I'd contact the vampires we were doing something active.

"You sure do ask a lot of question," Eric replied, but there was a small smile on his fights. He sure did show quite a bit of emotion. "It's very late; we're going back to yours." I glanced at the clock for the first time and saw that we really didn't have very long until midnight; it really was too late to call in on anyone else. Most people would be safely tucked up in bed by now anyway.

"Sorry about that," I added softly, apologising for my volume of questions.

"I didn't say it was a problem, you amuse me. Very few humans dare speak to me the way you do."

"Really?" I'd asked another question and before I could attempt to stop it, a deep blush had crept across my cheeks.

"Yes, really," he was laughing, a deep chuckle that was echoing slightly around the car as we didn't have the radio turned on. "If we go anywhere else, no matter how conspicuous it may look, we're taking my car."

"There's nothing wrong with my car," I defended, rubbing the dashboard sweetly.

"It would be easier to list the things that aren't wrong with your car. For a start she won't go above a hundred." At least he shared my innate knowledge that my car was a girl.

"But the national speed limit is 80!"

"Yes, so?" There was nothing I could do, I just commanded myself to sit back and to never, ever look at the speedometer whilst he was driving.

Only a few minutes later we were pulling up at the front of my house, parking next to Eric's shiny new car, which really did put mine to shame. I tried not to think about it as I clambered out and began my walk up to the front door.

"I'm getting changed," I called out so that Eric who wasn't inside the house yet could hear me. He probably would have heard if I'd whispered it, but it was a human gesture and I just couldn't give it up. I didn't bother waiting for a response, just walked into my bedroom, shut the door behind me and slammed the lock shut. "Argh!" I screamed as I took the first proper look into my bedroom. "What the hell are you doing here?" Bill was sat in the same chair that he'd been using last night and my book was once again propped on his leg, although he was now a considerable way through.

"I was waiting for you," he replied smoothly, fortunately he didn't bother to get up.

"Why?" I continued doing what I'd planned to do and got the same sweatpants from yesterday, a new jumper and some slipper socks out of their respective drawers.

"You weren't in when I called, I tried your mobile and there was no answer. When I came over here, your car was gone but Eric's was still here so I knew you weren't in too much trouble. I decided to wait."

"Well, serves you right, you weren't there when I needed you anyway. Eric however, has been a great help even though I barely know the guy." I stormed into the bathroom, locking that door behind me too. I got changed, my motions jerky and quick, as I let my anger unfold in my actions. It probably wasn't my wisest decision in my life. I'd been a confused mess of emotion for a long time and Bill's action earlier had made it rather easy to choose anger and it was really giving me something to hold onto.

I was soon dressed, so I unlocked the door after dumping my worn clothes into the hamper. Bill was still sat in my bedroom although he'd now moved to the bed, from which he was staring at me intently. Out of nervous habit I pulled the bobble out of my hair, ran my fingers through the long locks that were a wonderfully natural shade of blonde, and then retied my hair back in a neater ponytail.

"What do you want Bill?" I asked, realising I was losing my grasp on anger. Well, that didn't last long but it was probably because I was so exhausted from being up all last night and that it was now quite late. I took a seat next to him on the bed, yet I managed to leave about a foot between us.

"You smell like him," he whispered and I realised he was actually breathing continuously. Vampires, of course, didn't need to breathe as their bodies didn't require oxygen, they only breathe when they're talking.

"What? Smell like who?" I was completely exasperated and I could think of nothing nicer than curling up in my bed underneath the warmth of my blankets, possibly a hot water bottle to keep me company.

"Eric, you smell like him, it's all over you. What have you done?" His voice was accusatory and it made it very easy to get a further, tighter grasp on anger.

"What? We didn't do anything William Compton, not that it's any of your business." I huffed loudly, my arms folded across my chest in defence. I wasn't liking how much I was using that gesture, it had only started recently too. About two days ago to be precise.

"I just wanted to make sure." Then, for the second time tonight, I found myself being kissed by a vampire. He was more forceful and before I'd even got over the shock enough to begin responding his tongue was teasing against my lower lip. I did respond instantly to that, my lips moving rhythmically against his until I opened my mouth for him, letting out tongues dance together. My hands rested against his face gently whilst one of his was on my waist, the other at the back of my head pulling me into him more than I already was.

"Argh, no!" I pulled back after a few moments when my brain had finally kicked in, wondering what the hell I was doing. "Bill, stop!" I said forcefully when he hadn't moved back. If he'd really wanted to continue though I wouldn't have been able to stop him, vampires were that powerful compared to humans.

"Why? Your hearts beating faster, your breathing is deeper." I didn't need him to tell me what my own body was doing in regards to that kiss, I was lucky I'd been able to pull myself away when I had done, my body had been telling me wholeheartedly to not stop.

"Because I'm confused! I can't just go around kissing men, it's not me and I especially can't do it with all this that's happening. Jason's still missing, thanks for asking, and we aren't that much further forward in discussing it."

"Kissing men? The Viking?" his voice was dripping with distaste as he shot a glance towards the living room as though he could see through a couple of walls.

"Eurgh! It doesn't matter! Bill, just get out! Please, just let me be alone for a little while."

"As you wish," he replied softly, standing up from the bed and closing the distance between us in only two strides. During my little anger/slanging match I'd stood up from the bed and had begun pacing. He stopped me in my tracks with two firm hands on my shoulders, and he gave me a tender glance when my eyes shot up to meet his. Before I could tell him to leave again he placed a chaste kiss on my forehead, letting me feel his affection before he walked out of my bedroom and hopefully out of the house. When the door opened I could hear the television playing quite loudly in the living room. Obviously Eric was trying to block something out.

I shut the door once more and returned to my bed, lying down on top of the covers to think things through. My life had become more complicated than the last twenty years added together in the past two weeks, and it was all because of men, if you could even class two of them as men. My brother was missing sending my mind into turmoil with worry about him and it seemed more and more likely that something sinister had happened to him. I wasn't that much closer to finding out about his whereabouts, I was beginning to hope to get him back alive rather than getting him back in one piece and safe. Then, to complicate everything on top of that two vampires, both I'd technically invited into my life, were playing with my heart. I'd received stomach tugging kisses off of both of them tonight and with both I'd not wanted to stop. I was torn between two shades of darkness, the blonde or the brunette.

I was pulled out of my thoughts by the loud grumbling of my stomach telling me it was hours since I'd last eaten. When I glanced up at the clock I realised I was much closer to double figures than I was to a normal amount of time between meals. I got up, retied my hair and went into the kitchen to get a snack. The empty bowl by the sink reminded me that I hadn't fed the stray cat in days; she sometimes wandered through the clearing and I made it a point to put food out for her every few days. I placed some cooked chicken in the dish and went to the front door to place it at the bottom of the porch steps. On my way back inside, having locked the door behind me, I was aware that Eric was watching me from his place sprawled on one of my sofas.

"Not a word," I cautioned, walking straight past the door and barely sparing him a glance. I couldn't deal with him right now and my stomach was still grumbling terribly. Five minutes later I was tucking into another sandwich, this one was beef with a little bit of salad in their too for a bit of goodness. By the time I'd finished I was no longer tired and I couldn't stand thinking about my current predicaments anymore. I had two options; go into my room and read, or watch television as it was simply too late for anything else or rather early judging by the clock.

"Please and thank-you," I stated quietly as I walked into the room to take my place on the other sofa, immediately wrapping the old patchwork quilt around me. I slouched down, placing both arms over the arm of the sofa with a cushion on top of them working as a pillow and my legs were tucked up to my chest. Eyes were watching me and I glanced over to find that Eric was watching me with an unreadable expression on his handsome face. He was sat on the other sofa, his long legs stretched out before him with his ankles crossed and feet resting on the arm. His back was against the other armrest, one arm thrown haphazardly over the back of the sofa. Like any man he was holding the remote control possessively in one hand.

I finally paid attention to the television and found out that we were watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer, one of the episodes from the first season when it was at its cheesiest best and I couldn't help but giggle to myself. The big bag Viking vampire was watching Buffy and quite obviously liking it if his frequent chuckles were anything to go by. It wasn't long before my eyelids were beginning to droop and I was fighting sleep. There was something missing though; human contact. I wanted to feel someone beside me, just another presence to share my space with. Almost absentmindedly I patted the sofa beside me, otherwise not moving from my comfortable spot.

My eyes closed and when they opened again I wasn't alone on the sofa, Eric was sat next to me and I had completely changed positions. My legs were across his lap with his hands massaging my calves gently with the legs of my trousers pushed up to the knee. My head was still using the arm rest as a pillow but my arms were no longer underneath; one was sprawled across my chest, the other was by my side so that the fingertips were just touching Eric's jeans across his thigh. "Sleep." He commanded softly and surprisingly I did just that.

I awoke warm, relaxed and comfortably in my own bed the next morning, surprised that it was actually still morning. The house was silent, nothing moving and I let the peace wash over me completely with my shields still completely down so there was no tension at all within me. I just basked for a few minutes in my bed, before I realised that I couldn't remember ever getting to bed. Eric must have moved me here last night after I'd fallen asleep properly; the last thing I could remember was giggling at the television whilst having an innocent massage from my vampire. Shaking my head to take the thoughts from my head, it wasn't anything horrible I realised after I'd checked to make sure I was still fully dressed, and I got up to start my day.

The day passed in much the same was as yesterday; I went to the store to buy a few fresh groceries and some more synthetic blood, chores, reading, eating and other little things of no consequence. By three o clock my eyes were beginning to droop again; I hadn't slept anywhere near as long as I needed and my body was used to getting a respectable eight hours sleep a day, even when working double shifts. The sky was turning dark again early with the promise of a true storm in the air, the one that holds both thunder and lightning. I was once again curled up on the sofa with a book in my hand, the blanket pulled around my shoulders tightly. My arm was weak, with the book dangling near the floor forgotten in turn for the glorious feeling that is only achieved when you're half asleep. That's when I saw it; a pair of golden eyes staring at me from outside as though whatever beast was crouched on the rail at waist height around my porch. I blinked furiously, trying to determine whether it was a dream or not but when I looked back it was gone and I was left with a feeling of unease.

I was snapped awake and I sat bolt upright on the sofa, book on the floor somewhere, blanket on the sofa. Quick as a blink I strode across the living room to the window and pulled the curtains closed completely, blocking out the world outside. I ran from room to room, checking every window and door was locked, closing all of the curtains whilst not actually daring to investigate the clearing my home was in closely. When it was finished I couldn't settle, my skin crawled and the sensation of being was back on me. The living room didn't feel right as I'd already been breached in there, the kitchen was uncomfortable and I wasn't going upstairs; I couldn't even remember the last time I was upstairs which set my stomach to churning; if I couldn't remember being up there it meant there could be windows open up there.

"Shit," I whispered with absolute feeling and I dashed from the hallway where I'd been standing to my bedroom. I threw the lock closed and pulled the bathroom door, you could call me paranoid but in that moment I honestly wouldn't mind because I really was in every way. That knowledge didn't stop me though and I crawled onto my bed to put my back to the headboard. My knees were drawn up to my chest, arms wrapped around them and head placed on top of my arms. That's where I sat, waiting for nightfall when I could call to the vampires for help. It was a strange situation I'd found myself in; wishing and wanting vampires, trusting them above all else.

I opened my eyes to find my room completely dark; I must have fallen asleep at some point. I was laid on my side, the feeling of soft cotton around my body told me I was now laid in my bed with the duvet tucked underneath my chin. The events that had occurred just before my sleep came rushing back to me and every muscle in my body tensed at the same time. Someone was outside my home. That's when I felt it; the body at my side, the arm around my waist. I didn't even attempt to stop the scream.

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**So, what do you think? I love reviews, you know that by now, so make my day? Who do you think is in her bed? Most of you guessed pretty well the last time I asked you guys a question, and honestly I find it fun lol. Thanks for reading. **


	8. Cats

**Hello, **

**I want to say a big thank-you to all of you lovely, lovely people who reviewed the last chapter, they really do make me happy so keep it up! I want to apologise for this chapter, I'm a little tipsy as I went to the pub this evening to celebrate one of my mate's 18****th**** Birthdays and I wasn't driving home. This is one of the few things I like about England; you can drink at 18. Don't worry though, I haven't had enough for a hangover or anything, but I did finish this chapter off whilst tipsy. Charlaine Harris owns everything, on with the update!**

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"Argh!" I screamed with fear gripping my body. The complete rigidity lasted less than a second and then I was thrashing about on the bed, arms and legs blazing about randomly and I connected with flesh more than once.

"Shh, Sookie, calm down. It's me." A deep voice stated loudly from behind me, breaking through my mangled mind. "Shh," the voice soothed this time, whispering directly into my ear. Its effect was instantaneous and my limbs stopped thrashing leaving me resting back against the mattress, but my breathing was still ragged.

"What are you doing here?" I asked as soon as I had enough control to talk."

"Keeping you company." Eric replied and I noticed that his head was on the same pillow as mine, one muscular, pale arm was draped across my stomach, on top of my clothes which is probably the only thing that saved him from a slap. "Oh, calm down. Something happened during the day and I awoke earlier due to the storm," he pointed out of the window and I became aware of the pitter patter of rain on the tin roof. It was so common a sound now, when I'd had the roof mended I'd had tin put on again only partly due to my grandmother's wishes, that I barely heard it. "When I discovered your bedroom door was locked and you sounded as though you were distressed I came in here."

"But the door _was _locked, how did you get in?" I hadn't bothered to remove his arm or tell him to move away, if I was honest the comfort was much needed and it did give me great comfort. Surprisingly it felt surprisingly natural to have a man's arm draped over my waist, even though nothing of the sort had happened before.

"You learn skills over the years, and I've had a lot of years." At my blank, possibly disbelieving look, he continued. "I picked the lock, used one of your bobby pins, I latched it again once I was inside, not that it would really do much with me in the room." He wasn't being modest, just simply speaking the truth. "You were still asleep and I found out why you were distressed; you were having a bad dream. I got in the bed to see if I could wake you but you stopped sniffling as soon as I did. I thought it best to leave you." I nodded at his full explanation, not quite sure what to say so not bothering at all. I didn't bother moving, it wasn't like I actually wanted to anyway, I simply memorised the feeling, the good after screaming part, of waking up next to someone and effectively snuggling in bed. It had never happened before so there was no need to think that it would happen again.

"What time is it?" I asked after a long while and I knew I would have to start getting up soon, we were wasting away the night.

"Just after seven. Now, please tell me what you discovered yesterday that made you so anxious." He paused ever so slightly before the please as though he really wasn't used to saying it; he probably wasn't.

"I didn't really see much, I'm not even sure what I did see was really there. It was about three o clock this afternoon and I was falling asleep on the sofa with my book. I happened to start looking out of the window, when I thought I saw something looking back at me. All I could make out clearly, there was a storm brewing so it was dark outside, especially under the shadow of the porch, was a pair of amber cat eyes looking in. The creature appeared to be standing on the guard rail outside."

"So they are werecats then, of some sort."

"It was too tall for a cat; the eyes seemed much too larger as well."

"The common ones are lion, tiger, panther, puma, jaguar. But there are others of course; cheetah, leopard, snow leopard."

"Which one do we hope for?" I asked meekly, thinking of how large all of those beasts are.

"Anything but lion and tiger, the size of them is problematic, especially if they know how to fight properly in their animal form." I felt his shoulders shrug from just behind me and his bare skin felt fantastic next to mine, even though I was still wearing a jumper.

"What are we going to do tonight?" I asked, wondering where we went from here given that we hadn't really found all that much out last night.

"Well, if you want to we can stay right here." Well, that just spoilt it completely. I sat up, my elbows resting on the mattress and slapped him on his chest before sitting the rest of the way up to put my back against the headboard. All he did in response to that was chuckle and snuggle in further, so that the side of his face was pressed up against my hip, his arm was now slung over my legs. The duvet had slid down with my motions and it was now resting just below his belly button, letting me see those glorious muscles, well defined even when he was completely relaxed.

"Seriously." I said to stop myself from thinking about the vampire in my bed. Of course it didn't work.

"I was being serious." I slapped him again, lightly, because it wasn't going to hurt him even if I used all of my strength, all I'd do is succeed in hurting myself. The second slapped earned me another chuckle. "I was thinking we go and check out those other Calvins just to make sure although I think we need to investigate Hotshot, we just can't go back there again tonight, it's too suspicious."

"Okay, so your car and we can get too in roundabouts?"

"Yes, I don't supposed you'd let me use vampiric influence? We could get through three people at least."

"Not a chance. But that reminds me, the first night I met you at Fangtasia, were you trying to influence me?" His mention of the vampire influence, it was more like a compulsion to do whatever the vampire told you, even if it involved completely forgetting memories or something decidedly nasty.

"Yes, that's what first drew me to you really. You were Bill's date so I immediately wanted some fun."

"Will I ever find out what's going on between you two?" Their rivalry, amusing and fun at times, was getting to become a pain and I hadn't even been witnessing it for very long.

"Perhaps someday, depends how long we're around. I tried influencing you just to see what you were; you were different, wearing white to a vampire bar for a start. But I couldn't get a hold of you, you were fighting me off. So when you had a little complication at the bar I thought I'd step in, especially since Bill didn't seem to be doing much."

We sat in silence as I let that fill in and I'm a little ashamed to admit that I did take a large chunk of that time to let every muscle on his body sink deep into my memory. There was a light dusting of pale hair across his chest that I noticed for the first time and it wasn't a turn off, although if there'd been a lot, it really would have been. The hair thinned underneath his nipples, leaving only pale skin until his belly button where a darker shade of hair lead a trail down underneath the duvet to where I couldn't see. I wondered if he had any clothes on at all underneath there, but I couldn't dare risk finding out, at least not the way we both wanted to.

"Your phones about to ring," he said suddenly, making me jump and my eyes jerking upwards from his body. He was staring at me, his blue eyes shining in the light coming from the lamp that I'd switched on; he'd obviously caught me if his twitching lips and elongated fangs were any indication. Just as he'd predicted the phone began ringing shrilly just after he'd finished speaking.

"Hello?" I asked cautiously, the last phone call I'd gotten hadn't been very pleasant at all, though it had been somewhat helpful.

"Hey Sook, how you doing chere?" Sam and he sounded a little suspicious.

"I'm doing alright, I found some information on Jason but I got it under control."

"Oh that's good, hopefully he'll be back soon, I hope it's nothing too sinister." Sam was a shifter and like me, he'd been thinking there was a supernatural air to Jason's disappearance, but due to his position within the community he hadn't been at disposal to help me.

"Yep, it's good, now, what do you want?" I asked, making sure there was humour in my voice even though my words were a little harsh.

"How did you know?" He laughed before continuing. "I know we both agreed for you to take time off, what with Jason going missing but the bar's really busy and Charlsie called in sick, she's got the flu that's going round." I sighed, I'd so far had three days off of work and I was already being called back into work.

"Hold on a minute please," I said to Sam before covering the receiver and turning to look at Eric who was in turn staring back at me with interest; he'd probably heard the entire conversation. "Do you think we could get away with one vampire going on the search? Sam needs me to work at the bar for a few hours, we could do some more digging after I finish, I'm sure Sam would let us use the computer if we need it and like you said, I don't really believe these other Calvins will know anything."

"You work?"

"Yes, I'm a waitress at Merlotte's, it's the best and only real bar in town, it's run by a shifter but hardly anyone knows that." I felt safe telling Eric that, he'd find out pretty quickly if he got within hundred yards of Sam anyway.

"I didn't know, I thought someone provided for you." Vampires could send you into a whirlpool with their occasional historic ways, they tended to only show it at times though. "I think you can go to work, read some of the patrons if you can. I'll let Bill know, he can go looking at the others on the list if he wants. I'll come to the bar with you." Well, that last bit would be fun. The people of Bon Temps had only just become accustomed to Bill, now they were about to be thrown in the deep end with Eric a giant of a man who seemed to have VAMPIRE stamped across his forehead.

"Hey Sam? Yeah, I'll come in, be there in about half an hour. I warn you though, I'm bringing a vampire. Bye!" I hung up quickly before he could ask any question, I simply didn't want to get into that conversation, especially not over the phone; it was easier for him to shout at me that way. "Right, we gotta get to Merlotte's within half an hour."

Somehow I managed it; uniform, hair tidied, work style make up, bag and a snack all within twenty minutes, more fortunately though, Eric managed the same. Before I could protest he produced his own keys from deep within his leather jacket pocket and tossed my own back onto the kitchen table. I rolled my eyes and followed him outside. We were at the bar in 8 minutes, at least five minutes faster than what I usually made it and I don't think my hand lessened its grip on the door at all during the trip.

"Let's get this over with," I stated as we pulled into the staff area of the car park at Merlotte's, Eric's car looking completely out of place amongst the trucks and little old cars.

"You say it like you're not looking forward to it."

"Just please behave." I sighed as we walked across the gravel to the back door. It was probably too much to hope for.

"I always do." That just set the scene for the evening, if his behaviour that I'd seen so far was behaving I would hate to see misbehaving, I couldn't even effectively tell him off.

Sam wasn't in his office, he must have been tending the bar, so I just deposited my stuff in one of his desk drawers and walked out to the front of the bar whilst still tying the little apron around my waist. Eric was trailing behind me and I just couldn't help but think of him a like a great big puppy dog, following on its master's heels. I picked a bottle of True Blood out of the fridge as I walked past and stuck it in the microwave just behind where Sam was standing.

"Hey, where am I?" His eyes were a little wide and he was staring straight behind me, a wave of possessiveness washed over him, coming flying at me mentally and I immediately clamped down on my mental shields. Tonight was going to be tough, no two ways about it.

"That's the vampire you brought! They aren't going to like this." He was talking in a bit of a stage whisper, managing to attract the attention of the people stuck at the bar, even the resident drunk Jane Bodehouse.

"Yes, now shush. I don't have any other option; this is a public place, so get your dander down."

"Sorry Sook, I know about vamps, I've just gotten used to it being Bill around these parts. You're in your usual section."

"Okay thanks, and he isn't staying around here, he's from Shreveport, runs the vamp bar over there." I added just for useful information before turning around and heading to work.

The first few hours flew by with running to the bar for pitchers, the food hatch and taking orders and the swirl of other people's thoughts in my head was like background noise that no amount of shielding could take away whilst still doing a decent job. The bar was about half empty when I finally paused to take a look around me to see what Eric was up to, the only time I'd spoken to him since I'd gotten here was to get him another bottle of blood. At that point he'd been talking to a couple of young women, I'd carded them.

"Looking for me?" A voice whispered in my ear and I spun around to meet collar bones because that's how far up on him I actually came.

"Actually yes, I was going to make sure you weren't getting into trouble." At least the girls weren't dangling off of his arms anymore, in fact he was alone. "You didn't bite them did you?" Come to think of it I hadn't seen the girls since they'd been with him.

"Jealous? No I didn't, although they asked for things. I've been talking to Sam, seeing if he knows anything about Hotshot, he just knows they're felines though, they don't ever run together. When do you finish?"

"In about an hour, but I'm closing up so it could be longer."

"Okay, I'll hang around here. Can I get another blood?" He took a seat at the bar again. I nodded my head and fetched him the heated bottle before returning to my tables.

"Hey Sook, any news on Jason?" Hoyt Fortenbury was putting on his coat to leave; he'd been sat in another section so I hadn't a chance to speak to him. Hoyt was a lovely man, the same age as my brother and he happened to be Jason's best friend as well. He was a little simple at times but he was sweet and kind, he'd always been very nice to me.

"No, I got a bit of information though so I'm hopeful."

"That's good; I wish he was back though." Since Jason had gone, Hoyt's life had taken a bit of a boring turn until that afternoon though. Now he was just wishing that Jason was back so he could share his exploits and the fun of the hunt. "I was out hunting this afternoon, and you'll never guess what I saw whilst I was out there." I didn't have to guess, I got a full colour picture right out of his head.

"Not a clue, razorback?" I asked to cover myself. Razorbacks were a type of wild pig that was quite rare in this area but they were seen, and shot, on a semi regular basis.

"Nope, but that would have been good too. It was a puma! Large as life, just slinking between the trees. It ran off as soon as it spotted me though." I offered my condolences on the loss of a target automatically whilst inside my mind was reeling. The picture in Hoyt's head wasn't a puma like he'd said; it was a panther, the general name for a black jaguar. Shit, I had real information and I couldn't even take a break to tell Eric.

The rest of the night passed by in a blue of orders and trying to get the drunks out of the door. The vampire in the bar, who everyone knew was with me, certainly helped on that last one. Then, just after one in the morning everyone was out of the door, including all of the staff and the finishing up jobs had all been done; it was time to go home. Eric was currently sat on the bar looking for the world like he owned the place and he was looking down on the kingdom.

"Come on, I need to tell you something." I didn't bother waiting for his response, or to see if he was following, I just shuffled into the office almost dead on my feet.

"What is it?"

"I found out what the Hotshot shifters are." I said, pausing to pop my jacket on.

"Telepathy?"

"Yeah, Hoyt was telling me about a hunting trip and he saw something in the woods. Anyway it turns out they're..." I was stopped suddenly by a large hand over my mouth.

"There's someone here." He whispered, barely audible, directly into my ear. He was stood beside me and I hadn't seen him move at all, let alone cover the entire length of the office. He wasn't looking at me though, but staring straight out of the window with his head cocked to the side as though he was listening intently to something quiet. "Wait here." He added and he was gone in the next instant, the back door was still open and the only evidence that he'd gone running off into the trees to find what ever had been watching.

But I knew what it was; I'd seen the pair of eyes watching from within the tree line. A pair of amber cat eyes, the same pair that had been watching me in my living room. There should be a bad guy rule that can never be broken; do not involve the prey at their home, anywhere else is fair game. Perhaps it should be extended to places of work too. I grabbed my bag, thankful for the long strap, and slung it over my shoulder over my coat, so that my arms were left free. I felt like I was being watched again.

I sat in the plastic guest chair, putting up against the wall so that I could keep an eye on both the window and the door, which was still open, wedged on something that I couldn't see. The night outside that I could see through the window was silent and unmoving; even though I knew there was some form of chase taking place out there somewhere. My hands began ringing, needing to be moving, even though I knew I couldn't go anywhere. My exact instruction had been to stay here, and although I'm usually pretty independent they seemed like good orders, so I was happy to follow them.

I glanced towards the door which was still open a couple of inches, letting a chill breeze sweep into the office. Although the main staff door was in the hallway it was directly next to the office door so there was only about ten feet between me and the dark night outside. When I looked back at the door I actually screamed at what I saw. A pair of green eyes with a black feline face was pressed up against the window, pressing on the glass just like a human child would. The intelligence behind the eyes scared me. White whiskers fanned out from a black nose that was twitching constantly. The next instant it was gone.

"Eric!" I screamed, not bothered about seeming weak just needing someone beside me who could take care of me. "Eric!" The window was still blank, I could see all the way across the car park which was deserted except for a sleek sports car.

My eyes roamed around the room, making sure I was alone. My thumping heart was just beginning to slow, no longer threatening to pound straight out of my chest when I heard the deep, rumbling snarl. Dreading what I would fine I jerked my head towards the door which was now much more than a few inches open. A giant black cat, standing at least three feet tall was staring back at me with evil in its amber eyes. Black whiskers were almost lost in the fur that at any other time I would happily gaze at for hours; at these close quarters you could just make out the spots underneath that made up the pattern of its coat. The white, white teeth gleamed, saliva glistening off of them and the bright pink tongue providing another contrasting colour. "Shit. Argh!" I screamed again, my eyes locked with the beasts.

The snarling stopped them, although the creature's mouth continued to hang open in a threatening growl. Just as quick as it had arrived, it turned, backing up first, to run away. The next thing to darken the doorway was almost as bad, yet it was only for other beings that it was bad. "Are you okay?" He asked whilst he was still checking out the room, eyes darting about and nose sniffing deeply.

"Yes, I think so. I was about to tell you, they're werepanthers." I gasped and the beginnings of tears began to form in my tired eyes.

"Don't cry, it makes me feel things. They're gone now, you're safe with me."

"Did you get any of them?"

"No, they blend well in the night, there's a few of them out there though. I got some fur off of one." He held out his left hand which had a deep scratch running down the back, the palm though was covered in black fur, even under the nails and blood was splattered across the skin. Bile rose in my throat at the sight but I quickly fought it back down. I didn't need that on top of all of this. I also didn't want to know what he'd done to the creature, but I did know he'd effectively marked it so we would know who it was in human form, the damage would show.

"Don't leave me alone like that."

"I won't, know let's get you home." Then before I could protest he picked me up completely and cradled me until we reached the car. I don't remember when I fell asleep whether I was in the car or it was in my house, all I know is that I awoke early the next morning in my own bed and alone. I think I preferred waking up the previous evening.

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**Oooh, I changed my display pic today, that's my little sweetie Lu dog! Thanks for reading and remember I love reviews almost as much as I love a certain Viking Vampire. Have a good weekend. **


	9. Stories

**Hello, **

**How are you guys? I'm good, took Mojo out in the car for the first time with Lu, went very well. Lu is still jealous though. I want to give you a warning, I'm going on work experience next week at a vet practice in the local town, so I'm not sure how often I'm going to be able to update, I'm going to try though because it's damn fun writing this. So, Charlaine Harris owns the wonderful Southern Vampire Mysteries, and Moonlight doesn't belong to me either. Quick warning, Eric is slightly out of character for part of this, but it works for the story. **

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When I became fully conscious I realised I wasn't quite alone; there was a note lying on the pillow on the other side of the bed with my name written on one side in an elegant script. I pulled my hair up into a pony tail; Eric must have somehow known that I always slept with it down before picking up the letter.

_Sookie, _

_Your bag is in the kitchen in case you were wondering and everything else is in its place. Sam has been informed of what happened and he says you're not allowed to work until this is over, even if they are busy. If you don't believe me, feel free to talk to him yourself. I couldn't get in contact with Bill via any means about last night. The last thing before I go to sleep for the day, promise me that you will be locked safely in doors, here, well before nightfall, before it even begins to get dark. Don't ask questions, just promise me. I shall see you tonight. _

_Eric._

Well, I wasn't entirely sure what I was expected in a note from Eric, I honestly didn't expect one, but it certainly wouldn't have been that. It was quite formal and I'd only seen him be like that once, I would have anticipated several innuendos and propositions, instead there were none. The severity of his tone at the last sentence made me promise, whispering aloud, to follow his request. The reasoning would give me something to mull over during the course of the day anyway.

I got up, showered, shaved, got dressed, ate and found myself a bit of a loss for what to do. I drove to the library with a couple of books that needed returning and picked a couple of new ones up to replace them, got another pack of True Blood from the off licence and decided that I might as well get some jobs done at home. It was only noon but the low clouds were blotting out the sun even though they were fluffy and white. There seemed to be some form of charge in the air that I couldn't quite place, it just made me uneasy.

Once at home I checked my calendar to count up the days that Jason had been missing, two weeks, when it struck me what tonight was. It was the full moon, the one day of the month when every shifter had to change shape and go running through the woods. Well, the last bit was optional but that's what tended to happen, or so Sam had told me. At the full moon Weres had less control over their animal form, becoming more like the animal they had turned into which tended to mean more ferocious and formidable. That wasn't good. At least I knew why Eric wanted to make sure that I was safely indoors by nightfall. I was actually grateful that I had a vampire house guest.

The afternoon passed in a blur of chores such as dusting, hovering, washing, and just the other little things that kept a home looking smart. It never ceased to amaze me how much there was to do, all of the time, when you had your own home to keep. It was a good job I'd been used to it, I'd always helped my grandmother out, doing more and more over the years, or it would have been a very big shock when I had to do it all myself.

As soon as the sky began to darken in the late afternoon I double checked the locks on everything, even daring to wander upstairs which I hadn't done in quite some time. I usually kept it block off to save on bills, there's no point in heating rooms that you never use, and I was glad to find that everything was as it should be. Once that had been done, I went back round every window and pulled the curtains closed which covered my little home in darkness. I was actually hoping that it would mean that Eric was safe to get up as soon as he was awake. I'd come to understand that the older the vampire, the less sleep they needed.

I was sat in the kitchen with the radio playing softly in the background, more so I wasn't listening to the silence that was consuming my house, reading a magazine and eating my tea, I'm a great multi-tasker, when I heard a rather incessant knocking on the front door. "I'm coming!" I called out and the knocking stopped as though the caller had heard me calling all the way from the back of the house. That should have been my first warning really. I peeked out of the kitchen curtains to make sure it was still daylight, it was but sunset was fast approaching, the sun was dipping down on the horizon, sending bright shafts of yellow light out.

Fortunately for me, my brother had had the idea to install a peephole for me just after our grandmother had died since I was living alone. At the time I'd thought it a little unnecessary but it was actually turning out to be quite handy. There was no one stood on my porch, not from the scope of vision that I had, but there had been definite knocking that nothing else would have been able to simulate. I sighed, hoping that this was good and not just some parcel delivery that had been taken to the wrong address. Bill has also developed the annoying habit of having parcels delivered to my house during the day as it supposedly cheaper than having them delivered at night.

The door creaked open and I found myself staring at an apparently blank porch with no one around at all. There wasn't even a delivery van parked on the sparse gravel. "Hello?" I asked dumbly, just like I would if it was a cold phone call. Of course there was no reply and I was still peeking around the half open door expecting some form of attack I think. There had been some one here, I couldn't deny that. I did have another gift at my disposal though; my telepathy. I cast the mental net outwards, casting as far as I was able which probably that wasn't far when I wasn't searching for someone in particular. The clearing in which my old house stood was completely empty; the only mental dot was the blank area that belonged to Eric who seemed to be stirring in the second bedroom.

Sighing, I'd never once in all my years, had anyone knock and run, I opened the door fully. There didn't seem to be any trace or signs around of anyone and I scanned the tree line, half hoping to see a pair of amber eyes so that I at least knew what was going on. I started left and worked right, constantly scanning for anything amiss. Tina, the name I'd given to the stray cat that I feed was nailed by her collar to the post marking the right hand side of the porch steps. Her small body was rigid; the fur matted with a dark substance I didn't want to name and blood ran in rivulets from deep wounds across her skin. It even ran down the wood of the pole.

"Argh!" I screamed and stepped back quickly, shutting and locking the door behind me. Without thinking I ran back into my home and straight into the second bedroom, thankful that Eric hadn't bothered to lock the door. I was just in time to see him rising out of the cupboard from underneath the floorboards, a look of wariness spread across his face. As soon as he saw me he flew across the rooms so that the only thing I really registered was his strong arms wrapped around my shoulders, pulling me in tightly to his body.

"I've got you, you're safe." He whispered and I could have sworn he placed a kiss on top of my head. One of his large hands swept my loose hair from my face, tucking it behind my ears. Tears were flowing silently down my face and I just couldn't stop them, the scene on my porch had disturbed me greatly, more so than I cared to admit. At least it hadn't been an attack, I thought dully, poor little Tina had been completely innocent. "What happened?" Eric asked after a few minutes, as far as I could tell he'd just held me, not looking at me, until my tears had run dry.

"Tina, they got Tina." I whimpered and pulled back out of his embrace to sit on the edge of the bed to save my shaking legs. It was then that I noticed he was only wearing a black muscle vest and boxer briefs. I just couldn't bring myself to care at that moment.

"Who's Tina?" He'd walked over to the window and was carefully looking out; making sure that the curtain covered his body even though there was very little sun out there to do any damage.

"A cat, she's a stray cat around here that I feed. They got her, killed her and nailed her to my porch." I was angry, so very angry that I was seeing in a field of red and everything looked like a very pleasurable punching bag.

"I see," he stated as he craned his neck to look at the front porch. "Do you want me to sort it out?" He asked after a few more seconds, he looked a little shocked as though he hadn't really intended to say those words.

"Only if you bury her," I replied and I realised that all it had taken to remove my anger was his simple question, in which he wanted to help me for no reason other than it could help me feel better.

"Okay. Stay inside, but lock the door behind me. I won't be long." We walked in silence the front door, he gave my hand a fleeting squeeze of comfort and then he was gone, walking into the night and straight past the porch. I didn't stay to watch him; I pushed the door shut, locked it and went back to the second bedroom. For some reason I actually felt safe there.

The clock that resided on the chest of drawers ticked loudly as I watched, willing the seconds to pass by faster. True sunset had been reached before Eric had left the moon would be rising higher and higher into the sky and all over shifters would be forced to change. Some would give in willing, changing before they had to whilst others would resist, with futility, until they were forced. The werepanthers of Hotshot were no different, they too would change. I just wondered which category they fell into. I had the distinct feeling they would change before they really had to, making the most of the full moon.

"Sookie let me in." Eric's deep voice called out loudly from behind the front door. I padded silently there; casting out my mental net to make sure it was him. Of course it was, no other person had that much control over his voice, making it clear without shouting, deep whilst still being precise.

"Is there anyone out there?" I asked once the door was safely shut and locked.

"Yes, there are shifters in the trees. At least some are in animal form but I was working to quickly to focus on them, I can't even tell if they're the Hotshot shifters. It could be any, this is the largest woods in the area, it's plausible. Though I doubt it."

"What are we going to do tonight? I can't really leave the house. Are you going?" The thought had never occurred to me but I didn't have the right to expect Eric to stay here with me. He had no real reason to stay and he had a business to run.

"I'm not going, the bar runs itself pretty much and Pam is there as well. We are going to take our minds off the creatures roaming around on your land." I nodded and followed in him into my bedroom and I wasn't excited by the prospect. "You wait here." He told me, waving his arms to mean the room in general before disappearing into the rest of the house.

I was joined a few minutes later, after I'd taken a few moments to freshen up in the bathroom, by Eric who seemed to be carrying the entire food contents of my kitchen in his arms with my stack of DVDs perched on top. He placed the entire lot of it in the middle of my bed before turning around and heading to fetch something else. I was sorting through the pile when by bedroom door banged open to reveal Eric carrying my large television from the living room in his arms without any form of strain. I watched in astonishment as he placed it on the floor and then pulled out a bottle of blood, with the top on, from out of his back pocket. Less than a minute later the remote was brandished at me for a fully working, hooked up, television and a Viking was lounging beside me on the bed. It was just one of those surreal moments and after the past few days had I didn't even bother trying to stop myself.

Giggles erupted from me in an explosion like a volcano and I sprawled across the bed, falling backward and my hands covering me mouth. I rolled about letting the entire thing out of my system and enjoying every minute. "What are you laughing at?" Eric asked with an amused chuckle, it seemed that my laughter was contagious.

"Everything!" He quirked an eyebrow, starting another wave of giggles from me. Perhaps I was bordering on hysteria? "Sorry, it's just this entire situation here. I never thought I would see the day I would be about to start a movie marathon with a vampire on my bed, to pass the full moon night by so that we don't have to face werepanthers. This entire thing is just a little ludicrous." I gasped out, finally getting myself under control. I was shocked when I glanced at the clock and found that over five minutes had passed by.

"Well, get used to the idea because that is what we're going to do. I have come to understand that in times of emotion women like to watch, er, chick flicks, and eat junk food. I have brought all the food I could carry, your TV and your films. Enjoy." His grasp of the popular terms was quite extraordinary for someone of his age, I'd never heard another vampire be able to use the terms as easily and still make sense.

"Thank-you," I whispered before popping a piece of popcorn from the pre-popped store bought bag and putting a DVD in. A few minutes later the opening credits Moonlight started. It wasn't a chick flick but I had a feeling it would be amusing to watch with a vampire.

"That is completely ridiculous!" He exclaimed for about the hundredth time just as the closing credits were rolling, but there was another three episodes on this disc alone which I don't think he realised.

"Tell me something about vampires," I stated simply. By this point I was laid underneath the covers with my pyjamas on and a bowl of popcorn in my lap, luckily for me it was the sweet kind so no sticky fingers.

"What do you want to know?" Eric was on top of the covers but slouched down, his head on a pillow, his legs stretching out so that his toes easily touched the footboard. Long blond hair was falling around his shoulders. Luckily, or unluckily, depending on how I looked at it, he'd put on a pair of jogging pants that covered him up but clung deliciously to his legs. They happened to be just as muscular as everywhere else.

"I don't know, just tell me something. I've got to the 'I want to talk' stage of emotional breakdown."

"I was in my early twenties when I was turned into a vampire, twenty three or four, I don't actually fully remember anymore. I was born and lived in Sweden but I roamed around what you know as Scandinavia, with my people, looking for better pastures and battling. I was a magnificent fighter in my time, probably the best within my group. I had a family then."

"You don't have to tell me this, if you don't want to." I'd pushed the popcorn away, popping it on the nightstand nearest my side of the bed. It was next to Eric's empty blood bottle, he'd had no problem with leaning right over me to put it there. Actually, I'd quite enjoyed that bit too.

"I wouldn't have started if I didn't want to, you may not know this but I'm not in the habit of doing things I don't want to do." He gave me a cheeky grin, as though he was currently shirking some orders. For all I know, he was. He did continue though. "I had a wife and children; I was turned whilst I was away in battle. I was never allowed to return, my maker forbid it, but I sent them money back with the troops. They lived well; my wife remarried one of the other fighters and had more children. That was the last I heard of them."

"Oh Eric," I said softly, my hand going out to rub his shoulder.

"Don't pity me; I have long since given up thinking about them. It is rare now, that life wasn't lived by me, but rather the man I was all those hundreds of years before. I have a new existence now, which I prefer. Even if it does make me a bad man."

"I don't think you're all bad. There's badness in you, I'd be a fool not to see it, but there is light there too. You're capable of good."

"How do you know?"

"Because of what you're doing right now. You're looking after some woman you barely know, protecting her from shifters, one of the few things in this world that could actually cause you harm and to top it off, you're spending the evening watching bad television and talking. Somehow, I don't think that's quite like you."

"It isn't."

"Then why are you doing it?"

"I don't know." Our conversation died out there, and I turned my attention back to the next episode with Mick St John, even though I wasn't really paying attention.

Eric had just shared with me, albeit a condensed version, of his life as a human and a glimpse into his past. He was powerful and old, but he was sharing his night doing uncharacteristic things with a waitress from a backwater town. When I glanced his way, a brooding look had taken over his face, lowering his eyebrows and the corner of his mouth. His usually sparkling blue eyes seemed darker than I'd ever seen them.

"Tell me something about you," Eric suddenly said after about half an hour's silence between us. My head had been filled with the same thoughts running around and his deep voice made me jump.

"Why?" I pondered. I thought he'd taken a dislike to this sharing thing after what I'd said.

"I find myself wanting to know you, I actually have feelings about it not just passiveness. I'm not sure if I like it yet. Tell me something about you, something that no one knows." Well, it wasn't like he would post it all over the internet, people thought I was crazy anyway so it couldn't harm me and I doubt he was going to go off gossiping to the locals.

"Okay. When I was younger I had a funny Uncle." I started out before thinking it through, complete shock overcame me when I realised what story I was about to tell him. Technically speaking some people know; my grandmother, Jason, my own mother to some extent before she died.

"Ha-ha or peculiar?" He asked and I couldn't stop a little chuckle. Then the gravity of what I was going to tell him really kicked in, killing the laughter.

"Peculiar, in the bad way. It started when I was really little, my parents were still alive."

"What happened?" Somehow I just knew he was talking about my parents. "I assumed with you not mentioning them and them not looking for Jason."

"I was seven when they died, they were crossing a bridge near our family home, the one Jason lives in now, when there was a flash flood which killed them. My uncle was called Bartlett and he was my grandmothers brother, he would visit at least once a month because he didn't live that far away, although I'm not actually sure where. It started out innocent enough; hugging me and kissing my head, then the hugs got longer and his hands moved when he did so.

"I told my mom about it and she thought I was being ridiculous, read it all in a book that I wasn't supposed to read. It got worse; touching inappropriate places, 'accidentally' walking in on me when I was changing. What made it worse was that I could 'hear' everything he was going to do, what it made him feel and what he really wanted to do."

"He's dead now?" Eric growled from beside me and I looked up at him for the first time, I'd been staring at my hands as I thumbed with the duvet.

"Yes, died not long after my grandmother actually. Things kept getting worse and I couldn't tell anyone, at one point he pulled my pants down and he was about to, you know, when he was interrupted. My mother calling him to come help with dinner since my dad was out." Suddenly I found myself pressed up against a stony back with a pair of pale arms wrapped around me, holding my hands so that I wasn't fiddling. He didn't say anything, just held me there and I noticed for the first time that the memories were causing me to quiver. "My parents died between that visit and the next. Nothing happened for a few weeks, the funeral I imagine got in the way." I was beginning to distance myself from the tale but it was the only way I could get through it without crying, even now.

"Me and Jason went to live with my grandmother. The first time after everything had quietened down and he visited, I hid in my wardrobe, praying that I wouldn't be found. Of course my grandmother came looking and of course she found me. I told her everything and what's more, she believed me. She sent Uncle Bartlett packing and told him to never return. I only saw him once after that, at my grandmother's funeral. She kicked her own brother out of her life for me. Apparently he'd tried something similar with my aunt Linda when she was young, my grandmother didn't have any real proof but they were never left alone together. That's the end really; my grandmother came through for me."

"He didn't, ah, do any damage did he?" Eric asked his voice quiet and the only light was coming from the TV so his face was in shadow, or at least what I could see of it out of my peripheral vision.

"No, he never raped me. I remain untouched in that way." I didn't through what I'd said but I realised when his arms became a little stiff around my waist. I'd just told him I was a virgin. Of course it was the truth but let's face it, it's shocking to find out that someone at twenty six is a virgin.

"You're a virgin?" He asked after a few seconds of thinking.

"Yep."

"Why?" He sounded completely shocked, as though he couldn't figure it out. "You're beautiful."

"Telepathy sucks, I've been on a few dates with people, kissed a couple, but I could hear absolutely everything they were thinking. Every little problem, every little wish. It was sickening. And mentally draining when I tried to shield so that the worst of it was kept out. Wait, did you say I was beautiful?"

"Yes."

"Erm thanks."

"Thank-you for telling me the story. I want you to know, if he wasn't already dead he would have been by sunrise." I gulped, he was speaking the absolute truth and it cooled me to my core.

We sat in silence, the DVD had finished playing, leaving a blank screen that only gave a faint glow to illuminate the room. I was still being held in Eric's arms, his hair was even falling over my shoulder, mixing with my hair and I noticed I'd been wrong before, my hair was nearly as pale as his, so much so that I couldn't quite tell where my hair began and his ended. It was comfortable, being held like that, and a deep relaxation overcame me, letting me close my eyelids and just feel what was around me; strong muscles, soft hair, slightly scratchy chin, cotton vest and overall a cool calmness that only a vampire can give.

"I have a plan by the way."

"A plan for what?"

"To get your brother back. Tonight is the full moon, there's something different about the shifters. I think they're weaker somehow. We go there tomorrow at first dark, Bill with us if we can get a hold of him. Most of them should be too tired to fight back, others too tired to fight back much. If you talk to Calvin he might even help. We search their land, outbuildings, I'll see if I can find some traces of him. He has to be there, they wouldn't react like this otherwise. We'll get your brother back because he's alive as well, they wouldn't be this afraid if he wasn't. Tomorrow we get your brother back."

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**So what did you think? You know I love reviews almost as much as I love a certain Viking Vampire. I want to let you know that this story doesn't end when Jason is found. So, thanks for reading.**


	10. Scratches

**Hello!**

**Sorry about the gap in between updates, I've been on work experience, it's really great and I'm learning a lot but it doesn't leave much time for writing. I only have three more days left though, but I'm a little sad as this is the best practice I've been to so far. Anyway, as always Charlaine Harris owns the wonderful Southern Vampire Mysteries. I'm loving the latest TB episode, the flash back at the end was brilliant but not what I was expecting really with what we've seen from the Viking days before. When I have time I'm planning on coming back and editing/extending this chapter but I'll let you know. On with the update!**

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The next evening I was ready for just about anything by the time the sun was beginning to lower below the horizon. I'd spent the day in bed just resting and sleeping away most of the hours, only getting up when I needed something to eat. Last night I'd fallen asleep in Eric's arms, still sat up but leaning back against his chest. My sleep had been peaceful and deep, nothing breaking through to my conscious mind. All I could remember dreaming about was long blonde hair over my shoulder, and once again I just didn't know if it was mine or his.

Everything that I thought we could possibly need was laid out on my kitchen table, ready to go in my bag or in the car if it was actually needed. Already in my bag, which was actually a back pack, was a first aid kit and blankets, along with a bottle of fresh water. We getting Jason back and I knew he wasn't going to be in any fit state, the phone calls had told me he was being held against his will and I seriously doubted it would be in a five star hotel.

"Ready?" Eric asked from the doorway making me nearly jump out of my seat. My heart started thumping in my chest, my hand flying to make sure it wouldn't fly past my ribs. "Sorry," he added with a chuckle, sounding as though he really didn't mean it, but, at least he'd said it.

"Yes, I think I am. There's a blood in the microwave and just tell me what I need to pack." I patted my back pat which was currently sat on my lap and only about half full. Eric was, thankfully, fully dressed with his customary leather jacket on too, I couldn't help but notice though there seemed to be another necklace around his neck, disappearing underneath the material of his shirt.

"I doubt we'll need any of it, just take the stuff that we might need to help Jason if he'd hurt, I'll handle the shifters." I was literally trusting him with my life, what worried me more was that I had no problem with trusting him with my life. "Bill should be here as soon as possible, so," he checked his watch, "in about five minutes at true sunset."

A few minutes later we were walking out of the back door to where the cars were now parked, with Eric carrying my bag. I had a feeling I was going to see a different side to Eric that had only been hinted at before, I'd never seen a vampire in full fight mode and I had a distinct notion that with Eric, I would be diving into the deep end.

I had a problem when we got to the porch; there were three cars sitting on the gravel, only two of which I recognised; my old banger, the sleek Audi that was Eric's sports car and a giant sort of truck with an Audi logo. "What's the other car?" I asked, taking the steps down to the gravel.

"Our ride. It's one of my other cars." Eric said off handed, letting the beeper go off to unlock the door. I quickly clambered into the passenger seat only to slink into the beautifully soft, cream leather of the interior.

"How many cars do you have?"

"Both not and more than enough." He laughed. "I also have a thing for Audis and Corvettes, you haven't seen one of those yet. I have a custom." The engine roared to life and even I appreciated the bass growl. "V12 engine." He added sounding as proud as a dad when his daughter won a spelling bee. I shook my head but we were off, tires spinning and even getting thrown back into the seat. Bill was waiting for us at the front of the house in his Chevy sports car that I wasn't at all impressed with after I'd seen the Audis.

We flew down the quiet parish roads, spinning around the corners and barely slowing down for junctions. I found myself praying to God multiple times and my hands never left the seat. When we began to slow, still a few miles away from Hotshot my fear and panic finally had enough of an opening to spread up through my body.

"Sorry, it appears that Bill can't keep up and we need to arrive together." He was completely full of life; the blood he'd drunk so quickly had given him a faintly pink tinge to his cheeks, there was a broad grin across his face and his eyes were sparkling. The elongated fangs did kind of ruin the effect though. "Finally." He muttered before revving the engine and swinging the car into a higher gear, it was a manual transmission. Checking in the wing mirror I could see the shine of another car only a few hundred feet behind us.

Soon we were approaching Hotshot without the watching eyes that had plagued us the last time. There were no eyes in the trees, no traces of fur flickering just beyond clear sight and there was no faint sound of running feet on the ground, or so Eric told me. All too soon we came to a screeching halt just outside of the circle of houses. No one was waiting for us; in fact it was eerily empty.

"What's going on?" I whispered, my hand paused on the door handle.

"I don't know. There's people here, but they're not all here. Come on, I don't trust it but we should use it." He jumped out of the car and I was left to follow because there wasn't anything else I could do.

"Sookie," Bill greeted me, a fleeting whisper in my ear and a ghosting caress of my waist.

The vampires ran ahead of me, but keeping it slow enough that I could still see them and follow in behind. They couldn't leave me too alone, it was too risky. My shields were completely down, as much as I'm really able to, as a defence mechanism. What I didn't expect was to find my brother so quickly. I'd taken barely ten running strides into the centre of the crossroads when I heard the familiar pattern of his brain.

"Are you alright? I warned you to be careful if you came back here." Calvin was stood in the direction that I wanted to go, effectively blocking my path although he didn't seem malicious.

"My brother's here, I know my brother is here, you've got to believe me." I cried, letting tears well up in my eyes and all of my emotions be visible on my face. His face turned to stone as he stared at me, gazing intently into my eyes judging whether I was telling the truth. I just couldn't read what he was thinking.

"Okay." He stated simply after a moments, still searching my eyes. "You have some explaining to do." He must have seen the stricken look on my face because he quickly continued. "Later. Where is he?" The vampires were stood at the edge of the gardens from where they watched my little encounter.

"This way," I turned as I spoke because I could only show him. I didn't know the area, so I couldn't create a map and Jason himself didn't know where he was being kept. It didn't work, he wouldn't be able to hear me but I was thinking at him, almost screaming in my head. _I'm on my way, just hold on. I'm on my way._

"You brought the vampires, I only have limited control." Calvin warned as we walked swiftly to the other end of the little village and I knew we were heading towards the two storey house tucked away slightly behind another house.

"We know, we haven't come here to spill blood. We are just collecting what is ours." Eric stated loudly and I could feel his presence at my back, when he'd joined us I didn't know.

"Very well, but I warn you now, they know you're here." I was slightly ahead of the group, with Eric close by my side and keeping his pace in line with mine; he didn't know what we'd find. I came to a halt outside of a garden where I could hear the thoughts more strongly; Jason could hear our approach.

_Oh god, he's back! I didn't do it! Please god, believe me. I didn't do it! _

"He's in there!" I shouted, pointing at the shabby shed that was leaning against an equally shabby garage in which an old car could be spotted through the open door even though it was partly obscured by bags of rubbish.

"The shed." Eric stated for clarification before walking towards the door, leaving me to scurry along behind him. Without a second though his large hand grabbed the pad lock which was the first lock, snapping it clean off with seemingly no effort at all. The latch was snapped, both the top and bottom, in the same way with only a flick of the wrist to transfer his strength.

_Oh my god, what the hell! He aint a shape shifter! Fuck, fuck fuck. God! I promise I won't do nothing wrong again if you let me live. Please! Fuck it, he's a blood sucker. _The same thoughts kept running round in circles in his head, faster and faster as soon as he saw the door opening. I was watching from both perspectives; barely being able to watch via peering over Eric's broad shoulders and through Jason's eyes. _Sookie?_ He'd finally seen me, or more likely a blonde mop and forehead behind a leather jacket.

"Jason! It's me, it's really me." I called out whilst trying to shove aside a giant of vampire. "Let me aside!" I snapped, finally fighting my way past to lay eyes on Jason.

He was laid down on the concrete floor with only a deflated air mattress for comfort and protection from the cold. His jeans were ripped but mainly whole above the mid shin, I was sorry to say that his shirt wasn't in anywhere near as good a condition. The shirt was only kept on his back by the hems around his shoulders, everything else was in tatters as though it had been shredded. His pale, pale skin was scratched to high heaven with deep gouges decorating it every so often, some were still weeping and most had congealed blood scabbing them over. Running up and down his arms were bite marks, some human, some animal with deep canine marks that brought the bile rising up from my stomach.

"Oh Jason," I cried out as I knelt down on the ground by his side, my hands running along his forehead to brush back his hair. His eyes were wide with fright, sparkling with tears that were still unshed from the relief at seeing me here. "It's alright now, we're gunna get you home now." I whispered to him, placing a gentle kiss against his cheek. His eyes were staring straight ahead; he'd glanced at me once since I'd knelt down, though he was no longer shaking at my touch. "Don't worry about the vampires, they're with me. Look, there's Bill there." I whispered soothingly, sounding like I was talking to a five year old.

"They aint gunna get me?" He whispered shakily, his voice sounded like he hadn't a drink in days, or hoarse from shouting.

"No, I won't let them." If they really wanted to hurt him they could easily take me out of the way, but for once they we were on the same side. It was the shifter running down the path that we had to worry about. "Shifter!" I yelled, even as I pushed myself up against the wooden back wall, pulling Jason with me so that he was sat up against me, using me as a cushion.

Eric whirled around, stooping down so that his tall frame wasn't brushing the roof of the shed. His fingers were claws at his side matching his snarling face. Bill was mirroring his stance just outside of the door. A shifter in full animal form came flying into the door way, taking up the entire space as it lunged with its front end in the air. Snarling and gnashing it's teeth, the beast landed squarely on Eric, only his quick reflexes keeping it off of his chest. He staggered back, keeping the mouth from his face by the forearm he thrust into its jaws. Then, just as fast as it had pounced, the panther turned its amber eyes on me and left Eric, using him as a springboard to land on the floor.

I moved in front of Jason, putting my body between him and the cat, staring into a pair of intelligent eyes that would haunt my dreams. Crouching down the jaws stretched open, saliva dripping from the long canines to drip onto the floor. Clouds of breath were visible in the shed as it snorted through its nose, still staring me down. Pain rippled across my body, emanating from my stomach and I convulsed at the pain; my eyes squeezed shut instantly and my arms wrapped around my body.

"Stop!" A growling voice yelled, commanding to the brim. My eyes snapped open to reveal a red faced Calvin yelling and growling at a group of men who were beginning to surround us. Eric was laid down completely on top of the panther who was still staring daggers at me, blood dripping from one front paw. Bill was kneeling down over the back of the cat, keeping it pegged down, its tail held in his firm hand. "Stop this, as your leader I command you to return to your homes!" The bass of Calvin's voice was dropping, turning more into a growl with every word. It worked though, the men outside began to slink back, not turning their backs, but moving back and out of sight.

"Sookie? Are you alright?" Eric asked me quietly, his bright blue eyes turned on me, still looking fierce from the adrenaline. At least, that's what it would have been in a human.

"Yes, it got me though, scratch." I was thankful for the thick sweatshirt I'd worn but the rips down the front that I could feel with my fingers weren't a good sign. The hot, sticky liquid underneath them also added to my unease. It would be best if I didn't look until later.

"You're bleeding," Bill piped up from his position near the door.

"Yes, well no shit sherlocke." I hissed as I sat up properly and turned back to Jason. "Calvin!" I called even though I knew I was out staying my welcome with him. He was beside my side in a few moments, having navigated the massive obstacle in his way. "Can you get the cat to shift back?" I asked, knowing that a human would be much easier to control, even if it was only because it was smaller.

"No, we don't have enough control for that. He knows he's been bested now though." He'd turned ashamed eyes to the panther who had finally quietened, no longer snarling, which might have been helped by the fist that had rained down on his head courtesy of Eric.

"What about my brother? What happened to him?" I asked, returning to stroking Jason's cheek after I'd wiped my hand on my jumper. He appeared to have passed out completely; his eyes were shut whilst his breathing was now deep and even, not the erratic breaths of his worried state from only a few minutes ago.

"I'm afraid he's been bitten and scratched, he may be joining us. There's no way to tell until the full moon."

"You mean he might be a shifter now?" I cried, wiping the tears away with my other hands.

"Yes. But we have time. You must go now though, I may be the leader but I'm not powerful enough to take on them all. Go." With that he stood up and nimbly ran out of the shed, disappearing towards the house where most of the men had gone earlier.

"The cat?" I asked weakily, not taking my eyes off of my brother.

"Out cold, they'll serve their own justice for this I imagine." It was Bill speaking, his cool voice soothing after the frantic almost fight. As far as fights go, it had been a little anticlimactic.

"We must leave, they're gathering again. Can you stand?" Eric was already stood up and giving the cat a little tap on the head with his foot to make sure he was out.

"Yes," I replied, getting to my feet with shaking legs and grasping the walls with the flat of my hands. "Help Jason, please."

"Bill," was the only reply I got as the big vampire put an impressive arm around my slender waist and took most of my weight on him. He half carried me out of the shed where we stood waiting and watching as Bill stooped down to pick Jason up bridal style.

Then I was hobbling as fast as possible towards the cars. "Forgive me, but he's losing control." Eric whispered in my ear and the next thing I knew, I was enveloped in his arms with my feet off of the ground and we were running, with Bill at our side. "In my car, you follow behind. Meet at Sookie's." Then I was being bundled into the passenger seat of the Audi, my belt fastened around me with my back pack now on my front to protect my bleeding stomach. Jason was pushed into the back seat, his body taking up all of the room back there. The doors were slammed shut, Eric was beside me and we tearing down the high way as fast as the car would go.

"You're hurt, how bad is it?" Eric asked, his eyes never leaving the road although his hand was held out to me, palm up and fingers spread. Without thinking my fingers laced with his as I gripped his hand, using him to ground myself against he pain. There was a sharp, constant stinging in my stomach mixed with a dull ache further inside.

"I don't know, I haven't looked. Not until I'm home." I replied through my heavy breaths.

"I can smell the blood." I gulped at his words and remained silent, letting my eyes slip closed to will away the time until we reached my house. I didn't want to know how he was driving a manual transmission with one hand but he managed it as faster than I could believe I heard the gravel beginning to crunch under foot. The jostling sent everything rubbing against my stomach.

"Fuck," I muttered and the enormity of my injury sank in; I hardly ever swore.

"We're here," a soft voice whispered in my ear. "Wait here, while I move Jason. Where shall I put him?"

"On the sofa, he needs first aid." I replied. I finally undid the seatbelt and sighed from the relief of the pressure. Eric bundled Eric up in his arms and walked easily up to my house where he reached for the spare key I kept taped to the underside of the windowsill to let himself in. Gravel crunching behind me indicated Bill's arrival. I wasn't entirely sure what he'd done for us whilst we were at Hotshot but he'd been there to help which stood for a lot in my book.

"Sookie, let's get you inside." He didn't bother with a greeting, didn't really need one, but his outstretched arm was the most welcoming thing I could think of at that point. I slowly eased myself down from the high seat, my arm snaking around his waist for support in the same motion. "Come on," he whispered before placing a gentle kiss on the top of my head.

We walked slowly to my house; his arm just underneath my armpit to take my weight and my spare arm wrapped around my stomach which didn't appear to be bleeding any more. At least that was something positive. Possibly anyway. We continued into the living room where Jason was sprawled across the sofa and still blissfully unconscious to everything going off around him. It would be less painful this way. The first aid kit from my backpack was somehow already laid on the floor but the Viking was nowhere to be found. I had a lot of questions about this night as soon as it was over.

"Set me down." Bill immediately helped ease my to a kneeling position by the side of the sofa, facing the worst of Jason's injuries and the box. "Can I have a bowl of warm water and some cotton wool or cloth please?" I asked Bill, barely moving to look at him as I was scared to twist but I had to do this for my brother.

"Already here." Eric walked into the room carrying a bowl in one hand and the wool in another. He'd shucked his jacket at some point revealing the dried blood that was caked on his arm.

"You're hurt!" I accused as I remembered the panther clamping down on his arm.

"I was hurt, I'm healed." He set the bowl down and began popping in pieces of the cotton wool before leaving me to it. A bottle of half drunk true blood was sticking out of his back jeans pocket.

Most of the scratches didn't need bathing, they were a little too old to bother with but they did need antiseptic cream. If it was possible he'd be at the hospital but I had no way of explaining any of this and shifters had not come out into the open, they wouldn't take kindly to my knowledge. So I worked away, mopping up the seeping wounds and swabbing away the congealed blood from the deeper punctures. His deathly pale pallor was painful to see but I knew he would live; despite the number of his injuries they weren't mortal wounds he would heal, I just wasn't sure if I'd ever get my brother back.

Once he was washed as much as needed I rubbed Savlon into all of his wounds, paying careful attention to the larger ones that were beginning to weep. They would be crusted over by morning which was probably better than I could expect to mine and the main reason stopping me from going to the emergency room was the money. I just didn't have it to spend on hospital bills unless I wanted to go without water or electricity.

"You can put him in the spare room. Please." I whispered as I sat back against the sofa, relief flooding my body as I'd finished my duty to look after my brother. He appeared to be out like a light and would probably sleep through until at least dawn, longer if I was lucky. Honestly I was lucky to be getting my brother back at all. With no further goal the pain really set in and I couldn't help but clutch my stomach.

"Come on, we've got to check out you." Bill said, picking me up easily to take me back to my room. Jason was already in the spare room; I saw him as I was carried past; under the covers with his jeans over a chair. His shirt had long since been lost and I'd never seen socks and shoes.

I was quickly sat on my bed, my arms being held above me whilst one of them pulled the jumper over my head leaving me in only the baggy t-shirt I'd worn underneath. I was pushed back to lay down with my head against the pillows. I gasped at the motion. Then air was flowing over my stomach, the coolness was actually refreshing and eased the searing heat that had set in. There was one thing I was sure of; this wasn't any ordinary wound.

"Sookie, you need blood."

"What?" I asked; being brought out of my thoughts into what I could only assume was the middle of a conversation that I couldn't follow.

"You need to drink some vampire blood, it will help you heal and protect you from the shifter's affect."

"You mean this is all it could take for me to change the next full moon?" the thought hadn't occurred to me; I'd assumed you would have to be bitten to be affected, the disease carried in saliva. Yet, I was apparently wrong again.

"Yes, biting is more likely to change you but scratching, and deep ones like these, work as well." Eric explained, it was Bill that had been talking about the blood. It surprised me that neither of them had run down fangs with all the blood that had been around them.

"How will the blood help? Why can't you give it to Jason?" My voice was getting shrill again.

"The scratch is fresh so our blood will fight off the infection, you can't become a shifter easily with vampire blood in your system. Vampires can't be shifters at all and shifters can't become vampires, not successfully anyway. Our blood works on fresh shifter infection but it can't help with old or prolongued exposure. Your brother sadly has both; he's been exposed for days and his bites are extensive."

"Then why didn't he turn yesterday?"

"For all we know he did. But it appears that when the scratching didn't work the shifter started biting at the full moon to infect him." Eric finished explaining, sounding like he knew just a little too much about shifters for a vampire. They tended to avoid each other as much as possible.

"So I have to have blood to prevent changing?"

"Yes essentially. You may not be infected enough to change, but we can't take that risk. You need blood, tonight. You will also heal much better."

"Okay, how bad is it?" I whispered, my eyelids had fluttered shut again in preparation for the news.

"Luck yourself." Bill replied and I felt two impressions on the bed. Flanked by a vampire I was helped to sit up. My stomach was still bare but four long lines stretched across; three deeper than the fourth which was a true scratch. The other three were deep, digging into my flesh about a centimetre and splitting at their sides every time I moved. Blood had pooled within them, congealing into a sticky mass. The bile rose in my throat.

"Damn it, you two are right. It's either that or the hospital."

"Do you want to be a shifter?" Eric asked with a look of shock on his handsome face.

"No. I want to be me."

"Then you need the vampire blood, even if you don't like the side effects, they'll wear off." He shrugged his shoulders as though it wasn't a big deal. I knew all about the side effects of vampire blood, I didn't want any of them but between that and shifting, I'd chose vampire blood any day.

"Okay, I'll do it." I stated with a nod of my head for emphasis.

"The only question remaining Sookie, is do you want the blood from me or Eric?"

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**I want to say a really big thank-you to everyone who reviewed last time, I'm sorry I haven't had chance to reply to them yet, I promise to do it tomorrow. So what did you think? You know I love reviews almost as much as a certain Viking Vampire. **


	11. Lover

**Hey guys, **

**So another update! It's a bit shorter than my last few but I thought you'd appreciate an update anyway since I skipped a day earlier in the week. I think you'll like it, it gets into the good stuff pretty quickly. Had a really good day today at the vets; I took little Mojo for a walk this evening too; he got carried whilst Lu walked, which my little man wasn't impressed with. Fairs to say I was the only one walking by the end. So, Charlaine Harris owns the wonderful Southern Vampire Mysteries and on with the update!**

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"Okay," I replied, holding up a couple of fingers to tell them I needed a few minutes to think everything through; it was a big decision. "Whoever I choose will know my feelings? Know where I am if I'm in trouble?"

"It's not quite as clear cut as that but yes essentially; the first blood will let the vampire know your general feeling but not the cause, giving a greater intuition into you. They would know if you're in trouble and the direction you are in, where abouts you are, but it isn't like a treasure map." Eric explained and I liked how he wasn't assuming I'd chose him, although he was more than confident enough in his ego to do so.

"More things develop if there's any form of blood exchange, but a simple blood donation has a lesser effect on both people." Bill added. I noticed he was stroking the back of one of my hands.

"Bill." I started out and I saw the spark of brightness in his eyes, letting me know that I'd started this out completely wrong. I hadn't wanted to be cruel at all in this decision which was why I wanted a bit of privacy, even though I knew a vampire could probably hear a conversation in my room from anywhere within the house. "Can I have a bit of privacy please? I want to talk to Eric." I offered a weak smile, hoping that it was sympathetic.

"As you wish," Bill replied his whole face had once again turned to stone, showing no emotion at all. "I shall keep an eye on Jason." That was an unsettling thought; Jason's room was only separated from mine by the small second bathroom which was barely big enough to turn around in. He was effectively telling me he would be listening at the door with a glass.

"Sookie?" Eric questioned as soon as we were alone. He was still sat next t me on the bed, sat so close that I could feel the coolness from his body even though he wasn't touching me at all.

"You're older than Bill; would your blood have any difference?" I may as well make a uniformed decision, even if I was against the clock to some extent.

"The 'side affects'," he even used air quotes here, "would be the same but my blood is stronger, you are likely to heal quicker, better with less scarring. You may find yourself much stronger than normal, more attractive the things that I'm sure you already know about." His information cinched the deal with me; I'd been thinking that I didn't want to be tied to Bill so much; there was something just a little bit off about him at the minute. Quite frankly it gave me the heebie-jeebies.

"Okay, Eric, can I have your blood?" A grin spread across his lips, lighting up his entire face.

"I thought you'd never ask." He chuckled, not loud enough to cover up the banging coming from the other bedroom. "It seems our dear friend Bill heard." There was nothing more than the usual rivalry in his voice; he wasn't being malicious.

"Does vampire blood taste like human blood?" It was a strange question but I might as well be prepared for what I was about to drink. I also didn't know exactly how much I was going to need to drink, but I wasn't sure I actually wanted to know that.

"Yes, yet you can taste the power."

"Let's get this show on the road." His grin stretched wider and I noticed his fangs were getting longer. He disappeared into the bathroom to wash away the dried blood that had caked his forearm. The wounds were completely gone, leaving flawless skin underneath only covered with the smattering of pale hairs.

He sat back on the bed, with his back against the headboard and legs outstretched in front. Before I could think about the pain it would involve, I was picked up swiftly only to be popped back down onto Eric's lap with my legs over one of his, my bottom perched on the mattress between his legs. His black vest top was doing very little to hide the hard muscles underneath and I just couldn't help but notice the tiny peaks of his nipples; I wasn't looking for them or anything. His scent enveloped me; a mix of fresh linen and soap along with a delicious masculine essence that screamed vampire Eric.

I watched with wide eyes as he brought is right wrist up to his mouth and without hesitating bit straight into the veins or arteries that ran just underneath the skin. Blood immediately seeped around his lips, staining them a deep red shade that wasn't quite the colour of human blood, it also appeared a little more viscous. He pulled his wrist away and offered me it quite formally, with a little flourish from his hand.

Cautiously I gripped his hand and brought the oozing wound up to my mouth. It wasn't only his fangs that had punctured the skin; he'd bitten so hard that his incisors had made slightly crescent shaped oozing indentations. Letting my eyes close and thinking happy thoughts of summer, with their very short nights, I sealed my lips over the gashes, letting the blood pool into my mouth, over my tongue.

The metallic taste hit me instantly, setting into the back of my throat and I swallowed instinctively. The power flowed into me then, on the heels of the copper, exploding in my mouth and I could feel it leeching into me, through every bit of my flesh and into my cells. It gave me energy. Tingles ran down my body as I drank, sip after gulp.

"Mm, Sookie," Eric breathed into my ear behind me, his head lolling forward to rest on my shoulder, his mouth next to my neck. "You smell like blood."

"Don't bite," I mumbled around his wrist and I felt an answering lick on my tender flesh just underneath my ear. A shiver ran down my spine for entirely different reasons.

"There's blood all over you, I promise I won't bite?" He posed it as a question and I could hear the yearning in his voice, not to mention a certain gloriously large body part digging into my thigh.

"Okay," I replied, barely audible, but I gave the already healing wounds I was sucking on a lick that actually made him writhe underneath me. The friction it created was astounding; I never thought I could feel anything quite like that with so many clothes on.

"Fuck," he muttered as he lifted his head up to trail kisses across my forehead where there as apparently blood spread. His tongue trailed where he kissed, lightly moving the skin and occasionally sucking it into his mouth. "Please." He moaned against me, pulling me onto him harder, creating more friction that we were both craving.

Suddenly I was laid flat on the bed with Eric hovering above me, still fully clothed, and I had no idea how it had happened, somehow his wrist was still clasped in my hands although not held up to my mouth. His bright blue eyes stared down at me from only inches away and we were eye level for once. Gentle, oh so carefully for someone his size, he planted as chaste a kiss against my bloody lips, lingering enough to stain his own lips. "Bite." It was a command and I was happy to perform.

Taking his wrist back to my lips I licked the remaining droplets of blood before grazing my teeth against the flesh. Without hesitation I bit down, putting as much pressure into my jaw as possible, breaking the skin with a build up of pressure. I moaned aloud at the feeling of control that washed over, groaning as the power sank into me once more. I never closed my eyes this time but washed the emotions play over Eric's face; his eyes went wide as I bit down, closing when my teeth broke the skin and a look that I could only describe as ecstasy took over.

Using his height and long limbs as an advantage he trailed kisses down my body, pushing my shirt aside with his nose to get to my exposed flesh. Then he was at my stomach, licking at the wounds with delicate traces and inflicting no pain. An almost tickling sensation took over, sending more tingles over my body so that I writhed underneath him, arching my back to get as close as possible.

"It hurts to say, but that's enough blood," he moaned out, he would have been panting if he really needed to breathe. With a sigh I let go of his wrist, lapping the last oozing droplets up with my tongue with a suck for good measure before relinquishing it completely. A deep tugging had taken hold in my lower stomach, setting parts of my body long untouched on flame.

"Mm," I moaned as he placed his hands on my chest, rubbing my nipples through the thing material of my bra. He grabbed my shirt at the wide neck hole and pulled, shredding the thin cotton down the middle and exposing my chest. My bra was the next to go, not bothering with the clasp he ripped the material, pulling my body from the bed only to let me flop back down again.

The cool air of the room added to my shivers but it quickly disappeared into oblivion as his mouth settled onto one of my breasts, his tongue swirling around the nipper whilst his fangs grazed the soft flesh, threatening at any moment to draw blood. "Eric," I breathed loudly, pushing myself further into him and needing more friction that I was severely lacking now he'd moved down my body.

Bang. A door slammed shut somewhere in the house, loud enough to break through our pleasure induced stupor.

"Shit," we both whispered emphatically and simultaneously. The banging was followed by a sharp rapping on my bedroom door which I knew was still unlocked though thankfully shut.

"In a minute," I called out weakly, my voice sounding shaky.

"Go away Compton," Eric called out, his voice at least partially over riding mine.

"We need to stop," I whispered to Eric, knowing that Bill could likely still hear me now but it did make me feel a little better.

"Why? He wouldn't dare come in here without permission." He replied though his voice was muffled as he'd returned to placing kisses on my body, this time between the swell of my breasts.

"Eric stop." He immediately pulled back, having noted the tone in my voice. "I'm not doing this like this, we need to stop." My will as on a tenuous string, barely grasped between shaking hands. "Just not now." I emphasised, hopefully getting through to him that I didn't mean stopping forever. I'd never been awoken like that before, and I didn't think my body was going to take going back to dormancy easily.

"When your healed lover," he whispered before placing one final kiss on my healing stomach that didn't hurt at all.

He disappeared then and I heard the bathroom door closing; god knows what he was doing in there, it wasn't like he needed to use any of the facilities. I pushed myself to sit up and gazed down at my stomach to find the scratches had healed over, there wasn't even a scab. The pale pink skin was the only indication of what had been there and if it wasn't my imagination they were fading before my eyes. It looked like they'd be gone by morning if I was lucky, at least that would cut down on explanations, even though it was unlikely anyone would see.

"Here." The one word was my only warning as a piece of material came flying at me which I instinctually caught, my arms raising sharply above my head to do so. "Shit," I murmured. I wasn't going to have to do something about my vocabulary; it was taking a decidedly down ward turn. The clump of material turned out to be a black shirt that I pulled on swiftly over my head.

As soon as I was dressed, I forewent the bra even though you could probably tell as I was quite blessed in the chest department; I struggled off of the bed as my stomach was still tender. I padded into the hall to find Bill stood against the front door, a deep frown causing his eyebrows to sink low over his eyes.

"Bill, are you okay?" I asked quietly. His eyes darted down to my chest and I quickly folded my arms, obscuring his view.

"No, but now is not the time for that part of the discussion." That did not sound good. "It appears he's claimed you for his own now." He stated, nodding at my torso.

I blinked back at him before gazing down at what I was wearing. It wasn't one of my shirts; it was plain black and too large through the shoulders, clinging around my breasts and just right around the waist which was actually pretty strange. Worst of all it was only semi opaque; my skin was visible partially through the cotton thread. Eric had somehow managed to give me one of his clean shirts.

"Erm, what?" was the most eloquent reply I could make in the situation, it wasn't exactly covered in the etiquette handbook.

"Never mind. I'm leaving, Jason is out and he shouldn't wake until tomorrow afternoon. I still expect a date." He turned swiftly and walked out of the front door, disappearing into the night with the speed that only a vampire can achieve. The scary thing? I could actually track his motion as he leapt the porch steps and ran across the grass of my yard, heading towards the cemetery and his own home. Sighing, I closed the door, locked it and leaned back against it, my head falling against the heavy wood.

"Sookie?" Eric called out. I opened my eyes to find him standing at the end of the hallway near the kitchen door with a glass of True Blood in one hand and a shirt in the other. His chest was bare. My stomach dropped and my muscles tightened.

"You gave me your shirt!" I pushed off from the door and stormed down the hallway, my footsteps echoing. "You knew he would see!" I reached him and stood in front of him, chest heaving with angry breaths as my eyes stared upwards. "You did this on purpose!" One fist lashed out and thumped against the centre of his chest with the flat of my hand.

"You know, I do believe I can feel your emotions. I think you're a tad mad." He grinned good naturedly at me, making my anger slip through my body, leaving me a little hollow.

"You, you, argh!" I screamed at him and through another fist before slumping backwards slightly.

"Sook?" A weak voice called out from behind me. Jason.

"I'm here, don't worry." I rushed into the second bedroom to find Jason with bleary eyes staring wildly around the room. Even his panic wasn't enough to keep him awake fully, he was fighting sleep desperately. "It's okay, rest, you're at my house." I whispered to him as I perched beside him, my hand stroking his hair back gently. Almost immediately his eyelids fluttered shut and he was asleep, blissfully unaware of what was going off around him.

That reminded me; I was coming down from an adrenaline high and I needed sleep too because by golly, I was human. "Come on, let him rest." Eric's voice was gentle as he took the hand that had still been resting against Jason's forehead. With my hand he lead me from the room and back into my room.

"I need to sleep Eric," I whispered. I'd become aware of my tiredness only a few seconds before but it was all I could think about, I had a physical yearning for my bed and pillow.

"I know, get in." He pulled the duvet back for me and I clambered in, only shucking my jeans once I was laid down and safely under the covers. I curled up onto my side, my hands tucked underneath my chin as folded my body up into a little ball. That's when I smelt it; linen, soap and masculinity. I was wearing Eric's shirt and it was bathed in his scent.

The bed slumped as the Viking crawled in behind me, moulding his long body to mine and an arm snaking around my waist. His hand snuck underneath my shirt to trail against my stomach, his finger tips tracing the healing scars. His head was just behind mine, sharing the same pillow but there was no ticklish breath against my neck, there was only the cool soothing of his body against mine.

"Thank-you," I whispered after a few minutes and I opened my eyes again to find the room was completely bathed in darkness apart from the red glowing numbers of my alarm clock. And the glowing skin of my vampire, and me. That was something I just didn't need to comprehend at the minute.

"What for?" his voice sounded groggy, full of sleep even though I knew that couldn't really be the case.

"Everything, you helped get my brother back, he's alive and you've saved me from possibly becoming a shifter. Thank-you." My eyelids fluttered shut again; I couldn't see anything and this let me concentrate on the feel of him against my back and his bare legs rubbing up against my bare legs.

"You're welcome, Sookie. But you still don't know whether your brother will shift."

"I still have him back which is enough for me. I'll know before he does." I uncurled an arm to tap my head, knowing he'd be able to see the gesture even in the darkness; the alarm clock was more than enough for him.

"You let me know as soon as you do."

"Why?"

"I'll be able to help you." I could feel him shrugging as one of his shoulders brushed against my back.

"Okay," because what else could I really say to that statement?

Five minutes later it hit me; the relief swept over my body completely and I relaxed properly for the first time in a couple of weeks. My muscles gave up the residual tension they'd been carrying, my heart returned to a truly resting piece and I wept from the joyous feeling. It finally felt like everything was going to be okay, even if everything was going to be a little different. Silent tears swept down my cheeks whilst a little smile played across my lips. Eric's arm tightened around me, pulling me into his chest. A gentle kiss was placed on the back of my neck. That was how I fell asleep; wrapped up in a big Viking vampire comforter.

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**So what did you think? You know I love reviews almost as much as I would love to snuggle with a Viking vampire. Yum. **


	12. Home

**Hello, **

**So another update! I finished kinda early today and I'm currently watching a panorama special, 'it shouldn't happen at a vets'', so far all it's done is making me very, very angry as it's so biased. Right, I won't get into it now. Anyway, here's the next update and Charlaine Harris owns the wonderful Southern Vampire Mysteries. **

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When I awoke that afternoon I was of course alone in bed but the duvet was tucked around me snugly as though I'd been wrapped up. My stomach was furiously itchy which was what had woke me up. Throwing the duvet back I revealed my stomach as my shirt was pushed up around my breasts. The scratches were the pale of pink scars that were difficult to see and I was searching for them; a few more hours and they'd be gone completely. The itching was just one sigh of the healing, even with that knowledge it didn't stop me from manically scratching at the skin with my worn down nails and fingertips, seeking relief.

I eventually got up and showered, only bothering to throw on a bath robe in favour of getting dressed. I just couldn't face a pair of jeans when I knew I wasn't leaving the house. I padded into the kitchen, had my coffee and breakfast which was most like lunch, before getting a fresh glass of water for Jason along with a little bit of porridge that I hoped he could eat.

"Jason?" I called softly as I walked into the room. He was actually propped up in bed with his eyes only lightly closed as though he was resting, not sleeping.

"Hey sis!" He replied, his eyes snapping open and I pleased to see he'd gotten a little of his old sparkle back. His voice was less hoarse than before and he was nowhere near as pale.

"How you feeling?" Asking 'are you okay?' would be a stupid thing to do; even though he was looking comparatively better he was still shocking, so very obviously not okay.

"A little better. I still can't believe you found me. Did you use, your uh, gift?" Jason knew about my telepathy, he always had since I'd known but he never spoke about it.

"Yes, to some extent. I'll tell you about it sometime." I took a seat at the end of the bed, giving his shaking hand the glass of water which he greedily gulped down.

"Get it over with, I want to get every bad thing over with at once and I have a feeling I'm not going to like this." So I told him everything, although I did leave a few specific details about last night out.

"So it's really heeled? Can I see?" I'd just finished the story up with me getting blood from Eric. Slowly I undid the dressing robe and pulled it partly aside to show my stomach which was as smooth as it had been before. "That's impressive."

"It sure is."

"So they can't do that to me?" he sounded a little envious, and I really couldn't blame him. He'd taken the news of his bites which carried an infection, it was the best way I could describe how the shifter-iness was passed along, very well. He'd simply shaken his head from side to side slowly before sighing and not mentioning it again.

"No, you've been exposed too much; your body might reject the blood which could make you very ill. We can't risk that."

"Okay then. Can I have a bit of time to think sis?" he asked me, completely throwing me off of balance; Jason never needed time to think, he hardly ever employed his brain before speaking, let alone acting.

"Sure, make sure you eat that porridge though. Just shout if you need anything." I added before turning around and walking back into the living room where I settled down on the sofa.

There was nothing in the house that needed doing, well that was a little lie, there were things that needed doing but there was nothing I wanted to do. After the past couple of weeks I think I deserved to take one day off, especially when I had Jason to potentially take care of. So, with that mindset I curled up with my grandmother's old quilt wrapped around my shoulders to sink into the world of my new book. It didn't take long though for my mind to wander though and I was once again thrown into the middle of vampires.

I'd originally turned to the vampires for help when humans hadn't stepped up to the job and now I was stuck between two very handsome vamps that both seemed to want a piece of me. On one hand there was Bill who I'd known for a few months and we were actually sort of friends, certainly nothing bad had happened between them in the past. Overall he'd been there for me; he'd taken me to Fangtasia for information and come with us when we went to get Jason from Hotshot. He was kind to me and actually seemed to care about my feelings when he wasn't mad at Eric. He was handsome in a typical tall-ish, dark and handsome way even though he looked a little old fashioned. Vampires remained forever the way they were when they were turned. Yet there was still something holding me back from exploring the possibilities with Bill and it came in two packages. One package was his absent behaviour when I needed him the most and a six-foot four blond Viking vampire.

Eric was a giant hunk of a man that I found I was attracted to on such a basic level that I wasn't even aware that I could. I'd always thought I had to know someone before this level of yearning was possible but I was drawn to him, on a deeper level than my attraction to Bill. I'd only met him a few days ago and although I'd seen his vampiric worst, or at least a bad side, it was actually intriguing and I found his ego amusing and the fact that he was a vampire with a sense of humour was astounding. He was cheeky and ultimately fun. Honestly, Bill could be a little dull actually. I don't think he actually liked being a vampire and Eric; well he had joie de vivre for being a member of the undead. He was the most cheerful undead person I'd ever known.

I still had a date with each of them planned; well technically I had two with Eric if you counted the party in which I could decide which one of them I liked the best. I would have to be careful due to the amount of Eric's blood I'd ingested, I knew he could tell my feelings and knew where I was, I wasn't sure if my feelings were truly my own or not. There was one serious problem that I had so far not comprehended; what if neither of them wanted me. I knew Bill was sort of interested, or he was before, and I knew Eric wanted to get into my pants at least when he was under blood lust but would they still feel like that after this was all over?

"Sookie?" Jason called out from the bedroom, his voice sounding even better than before.

"What's up?" I replied from the doorway as soon as I got there.

"Do you think you could take me home? I think I'm well enough to look after myself and I don't want to put you out, I think I need to be on my own in my own home for a little bit." Of course his home was our old childhood home but it was true; I didn't class that building my home anymore, I hadn't in years. This house, my grandmother's, was mine.

"Of course, as long as you're sure you're ready; it's no problem staying here, honestly."

"Thanks sis, but after the past while I just need to get home."

"Okay, but you owe me a conversation, I told you my side of the deal, you haven't told me yours." I stared at him pointedly to let him know I wasn't going to back down on this matter; I'd been through a lot trying to get him back and I wanted to know why he'd gone missing in the first place.

"I know, just give me a few days. Now, can we go please? I don't want to meet the vamps; I don't think I can take anything that's not human at the minute." I read it in his brain that I, personally, was one of the people he wanted to get away from. He knew I was different and he considered me more than human, not less, but he still couldn't deal with at the minute. I suppose I couldn't be angry at him for that, even if it did sting. He'd been through god only knows what in the past couple of weeks.

"Okay, do you need anything? Any help?" I needed to do something to help; I couldn't just sit back and watch him struggle.

"No I got it thanks, you got a jumper or something though?" He pointed at his bare chest, he was now sat on top of the duvet and he'd managed to put his jeans on before I'd walked into the room.

"I got some of your old stuff, might work." I actually had some of his old high school that he hadn't bothered to take with him when he moved out at twenty and he'd bulked up a lot since then in the muscles department. I routed through one of the drawers to pull out an old sweatshirt that seemed baggy enough. "Here you go." While my back was turned he'd been able to stand up and he was now stood stiffly by the side of the bed, holding his arms away from his sides so as not to rub the wounds, all of which had stopped bleeding. There were however, several scabs that had crusted over but he seemed just generally better than yesterday.

"Thanks." I left him too it, not wanting to impede, and gathered my car keys from the hook in the hall alone with my bag. A glance outside told me I had about an hour and a half until full dark; I wasn't sure what tonight would bring but if Jason wanted to go home I pretty much had to take him, bar holding him against his will.

Five minutes later we were nestled into my little car and bumbling down the driveway. The sky was beginning to darken and I knew it was going to be a close call if I was going to get back in time. I may have been a little over optimistic when judging sun down.

"You should stay inside tonight; make sure everything's locked up too."

"I will, don't worry. The same goes for you as well, or do you have a vampire bodyguard again?" I'd mentioned that Eric had been staying at my house but I had withheld where abouts he was staying, as it would probably unnerve him.

"I don't know." I whispered quietly and it really hit me, Eric was leaving and Bill, well with him I just didn't know.

"Oh," was his reply and we spent the rest of the journey in silence. It was also an awkward goodbye at best.

"Thanks sis, I'll er, see you soon?" It sounded like a question and it was accompanied by a strained kiss to my cheek; he couldn't bend easily to do so and I hadn't been expecting it at all.

"It's okay, have a relaxing night." With that he eased out of the car and walked stiffly up to his house. Just like a date I waited until he was safely inside with a lock door before starting the journey back home. I was just going to make it back home in time.

"Sookie!" An agitated male voice shouted out as soon as I opened the front door.

"Hey, you're up early." I replied, hanging up my keys and slipping my jacket off whilst shucking my shoes.

"I always wake up early, advantage of being so old. But I got up because I need to get back to the bar." Eric was stood at the end of the hallway near the kitchen wearing what I supposed was his work wear; black shoes, jeans, shirt and leather jacket. His long blond hair was swept back in a knot at the base of his neck with the rest trailing down his back.

"Oh." It was the only response I could think of, at least I'd gotten my answer to one question; he was leaving tonight.

"Yes, I wanted to speak to you before I left, I think we have a few issues." Well that sounded ominous, as far as I understood it was bad enough when a human said that.

"Kitchen?"

"Living room." He nodded that I should precede him and I padded into the living room to sit on one end of the sofa, drawing my knees up to my chest. "I'm going to be honest with you," he started out as he sat down before pulling my legs out to place them over his. Large hands immediately began to massage my calves, easing the tension that had sprung up. "I don't think you'll have any problems with the shifters now, Calvin will handle them but you should get in touch with him. You owe him an explanation, for all of us.

"I know, I was going to do it tomorrow, I'm giving myself today." I explained a little, hoping that he would understand me; he seemed to if his nod was indication.

"If I thought you could be in trouble, I'd stay, but I do have to get back to the bar. It's a scary thought what Pam could have done in my absence. I think she'd like you." Well that right there was the new scariest statement of the day; I didn't particularly want to be liked by a new vampire, I had enough trouble with the two I already knew.

"I may hold off on the introduction." He chuckled at the expression on my face.

"As you wish. Now, I understand that Bill is still taking you out on the date. I want to take you out after Halloween; you are still attending the party?" He actually posed it as a question, even though it had been part of our agreement. I never went back on my word. "Good, so I'll get information out to you as soon as possible. I'll pick you up from here and we'll get you back here too."

"Okay, do I need a costume?"

"Yes, we're playing into the true spirit of Halloween, giving the public what they want to see. If you want, I could always pick your costume for you." He wiggled his eyebrows and I could hold back the bubble of laughter that rose through my chest. I had a feeling that if he chose my costume I would be wearing very little indeed.

"I think I'll be fine."

"Okay, just make it gothic or cheesy, play it up for the public. You'll be on my arm for the evening." I'd expected that but the way he was saying it, I felt a little cautious, it sounded like it meant more than simply accompanying him.

"I will."

"Right, I have to go, the bar opened over an hour ago." Throughout the year, even in summer, the bar opened at six o clock. "Goodbye Sookie Stackhouse, thank-you for a few interesting nights." Interesting wouldn't have been the adjective I'd have chosen to describe the events of the past few nights, but I suppose if you're a vampire, the chance of a good fight with a worthy opponent it good.

He gently placed my feet on the ground and stood up, pulling me up along with him in the same motion. We walked to the front door, him silently, and we turned to face each other. "How is your stomach?" he inquired, sounding genuinely interested.

"It's doing good, I haven't checked since this morning, but pretty much healed." I pulled up the end of my t-shirt to reveal the still slightly tanned skin of my stomach where no trace of the scratches from last night could be found. He reached out as though to touch me; his fingertips grazed against the flesh, tracing each line a claw would have made. I wondered if he could still see something that I couldn't. My eyelids fluttered shut at the tender touch. "So I'll see you soon?" His hand drew back and my eyes opened reluctantly.

"Yes. It's a week until Halloween. Stay out of trouble." He cautioned and before I could prepare for anything he stooped down to place a gentle, chaste kiss against my forehead, his hands holding my face.

"Believe me I want to." A grin spread across his face and his eyes sparkled. I couldn't resist, I went up onto tip toe and placed my lips against his, moving slowly until he responded. My hands rested against his chest, feeling the hard muscles underneath but his chest was completely still. Less than a second after our lips connected he kissed back, his soft lips moving in rhythm with mine and I felt the hard press of his fangs underneath. My tongue darted out to trace his lips then his fangs as he let me in his mouth. His tongue danced with mine, massaging and passionate. Seemingly reluctantly he pulled back, resting his forehead against mine.

"I need to leave." He breathed.

"Why?" I really didn't want him to leave anymore; that delicious pulling sensation was back in my lower stomach and I wanted to explore.

"If I don't stop now, I won't." His lips pressed against mine once more. "Soon. You intrigue me." He added and then he was gone. He'd simply disappeared into the night. I closed the door behind me, sinking to floor with my back pressed against the wood as a loud engine could be heard going down the drive way.

"Argh!" I squealed as a knocking sounded on my door that I was still sat against less than five minutes later. "Who is it?" I called out, sad to say that my voice was shaking.

"Bill." A cool voice replied. With relief I opened the door to find him standing on my porch looking completely relaxed, nothing at all like I'd seen him last night.

"Come on in," I replied courteously, opening the door wide enough for him to enter past me. "Want a True Blood?" We walked into the kitchen and took a seat at the table. When he nodded for a yes to the blood he was on his feet, getting it for himself before I could move.

"How are you?" he asked once he was sat down again.

"Better, I'm all healed up."

"Good, I'm glad you're well." He sounded genuine, a soft smile on his face. "I take it both your brother and Eric have left."

"Yeah, I took Jason to his place this afternoon, he needed alone time and Eric just left."

"You know he left a car." The Q7, I'd forgotten all about it.

"I didn't realise, I guess someone will come and fetch it at some point." We sat in silence for a few minutes and I just couldn't bear it any longer. "Sorry Bill, I really don't want to be rude but why are you here?"

"I wanted to make sure you're okay. You know you smell of him." Well that was different.

"What?"

"You smell of Eric, his scent is all over you." I hadn't been able to smell anything different but I did take a whiff of my jumper, pulling the material near my neck by pulling it up to my nose. It smelt like my laundry detergent to me.

"No, it's deeper than that; it's coming through your pores. You've had a lot of his blood, you've been around him a lot." He shrugged, making less of it than he obviously thought. "Please don't just cast me aside, let me have a chance at least." His voice sounded slightly pained and I couldn't tell him no, honestly I'd been planning on giving him his date anyway.

"I will, I still plan on upholding my end of the deal. You can have your date Bill, and there's most certainly not anything definite between me and Eric." Although there was something there.

"Good. When is your next night off?" That was a good question, if was put onto work tomorrow I would have a night off on the fourth night. I told Bill. "Well then, would you like to accompany to cinema and for coffee?" It wasn't exactly a typical date but I did understand that Bill had a certain aversion to food, him being dead and all.

"Okay, where and when?"

"I'll pick you up from here about half an hour after sunset."

"Okay, thanks."

"Right, I have some chores to do. I'll let myself out." He got up, rinsed his bottle before placing it I the recycling and gave me a soft kiss on the forehead. "Have a goodnight." Before I could reply he was gone. If I wasn't careful I'd be making a habit of having a vampire kiss me and making them disappear into the night.

I had a busy week coming up; two dates as such and work, mixed with God knows what else when I explained everything to the shifters. The date with Bill was less than a week away; the party with Eric was a week away. I was more excited about one than the other. I simply couldn't wait, even though I could feel myself sinking further into the vampire things, I was determined to have a good time.

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**So what did you think? Thank-you all for your lovely reviews, you know I love them. Right, I'm gunna go shout at the TV some more. I wish it was with a Viking Vampire by my side. Damn, I'm with all you guys, I want a Viking comforter too. It's not the vet's fault!**


	13. Date

**Hello! **

**How are you guys? Sorry I didn't update last night, I fell asleep pretty much as soon as I got in. I've finished that work experience now though, but I am going to start a little moan, lol. According to Alan Ball at comic-con, Bill and Sookie are 'soul mates' and the trailer shows Eric saying Sookie doesn't mean anything to him. Argh! Eric and Sookie are destined to be together. This is almost worse than CH saying that Sookie will never be a vampire, which doesn't sound good for a vamp/human relationship. I'm almost scared to read the next few books. I'm finished for now, but I'm interested to hear your views on this. Charlaine Harris owns the wonderful Southern Vampire Mysteries. **

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"Hello Sookie," Bill greeted me as I opened my front door all ready for our date. Bill was looking more handsome than I'd ever seen him; his hair was pushed back with some non-greasy gel that let me clearly see his eyes that were actually sparkling a little. His skin had the typical vampire glow that it appeared normal humans couldn't see and he was wearing a dark blue button down shirt with black trousers.

"Hi Bill, so where are we going?" I locked the door behind me and walked to his Chevy sports car where he opened the door for me.

"We're going to the multiplex over in Shreveport then there's a late night coffee bar there that's nice, they serve blood as well." Well someone was cashing in on vampire dates. "I'll let the movie choice be a surprise."

"Okay." I replied before settling into the leather seat. A comfortable silence over came us and I recalled the past few days which had been blissfully free of undead creatures.

The night that Eric had left, Jason had gone home and Bill had called round I'd been thankfully left alone to simply relax with nothing weighing heavily on my mind. That night I'd caught up on sleep, finished one of the several books I was reading yet still found time to make a mental list of what I needed to do over the next few days.

The next day I was due to work the early shift at Merlotte's; start just before lunch and carry on through until the end of the dinner rush. During the morning I'd given Calvin a call and set a time to meet him at the bar where we could discuss everything in relative quiet as long as we timed it right. Usually there were a good couple of hours between the end of the dinner crowd and the start of the evening drinkers. The shift was surprisingly easy, at least partly due to my improved, less stressful mood which made it much easier to keep everyone's thoughts out. The vampire blood in my system had something to do with it too.

"Sookie, you look beautiful," Calvin greeted me as he walked into the bar. I was still wearing my waitress uniform and I'd finished a six hour shift. I'd looked good at the start but I seriously doubted I looked even decent now; it's amazing what so many hours of being on your feet rushing around will do to you.

"Ah, err, thanks." I replied nervously. "Thanks for agreeing to see me; I would have come out to you though." I escorted him to a table; bring a menu with me just in case he was hungry. We were in one of the back booths that offered the most privacy even though there were only two other occupied tables and one waitress.

"Don't worry about it, I think it's probably best if you avoid Hotshot for awhile. No one really blames you but I have a feeling a few people have allegiance with Felton and I don't know what they would do to scare you."

"Okay, thanks then. Do you want anything ordering?"

"I'll just have a ginger ale please." I went up to the bar and got us two ginger beers before rejoining in him at the booth, taking the seat opposite.

"Here ya go," he inclined his head in thanks. "I'm just gunna get right into this or I'm going to struggle." Another nod, accompanied by my own deep breath and I took the plunge straight into the deep end.

"I'm a telepath, I'm not psychic at all, I can just read the minds of humans and to a certain extent shifters. Don't worry, it's more impressions of things I get from you guys; emotions, intent, sometimes an actual thought but it doesn't happen much. Vampires are complete blanks. You probably know that I can use my gift to locate people within an area, that's how I knew where Jason was."

"So you could hear him from in Bon Temps?"

"No, not at all, my range is pretty small actually; it extends with people I know well but still no more than about a hundred feet when I'm searching for them. I knew he was in Hotshot because of the trouble I'd been having." His eyes widened slightly at my last few words and I could hear that he was completely shocked; he hadn't known about any of my little incidents.

"Trouble?"

"Yes. I saw one of the panthers near my home a few nights ago, a couple came to the bar after closing to scare me I think. I don't know what would have happened though if Eric hadn't been with me, he scared them off. And when I first got back from meeting the vampires there were a group of shifters waiting for me at my home, the vampires killed two of them. Are you missing anyone?" I asked weakly, I'd almost forgotten about the two shifters that had been killed in my defence seemingly so long ago.

"No, all of my panthers are accounted for. We did have a group of shifters, regular jaguars, in the area. They were staying out in the woods near Hotshot, they were thugs, more so than most Weres I've met. They've disappeared now, all of them. I imagine it was some of them."

"Do you have anything to fill in the gaps of my story? I haven't spoken to Jason yet, he wants to be alone." I took a large gulp of my ginger ale, and I was surprised at how nice it was; it had been a long time since I'd had one. Calvin's glass was already empty.

"We questioned Felton last night, when we distribute punishment you and your brother will be invited. A vampire too maybe." He sounded as though I should be honoured to be invited, I honestly didn't want to see the punishment distribution, hell I didn't even want to know what punishment he was getting. I also desperately wanted to ask what vampire was invited but I refrained from asking. "It seems Felton has a major case of jealousy. He used to date Crystal, my niece, for about two years and they only split up a few months back. They'd been trying for a baby and after a few miscarriages the strain got to them.

"Felton thought that Crystal was trying for a baby with Jason, even though they'd only been on one date. Crystal has been going on several dates with people from out of Hotshot, because the dates never actually pick her up in Hotshot, he didn't know who. Jason was the first guy he actually saw when he followed crystal to meet him. A couple of weeks ago he got a chance and caught Jason just as he was going into his house.

"He wanted to turn Jason into a Were so that Crystal wouldn't be able to have his child, not to carry to term, so she wouldn't be interested in him anymore. Crystal feels really bad for her part in this."

"I know she isn't the one to blame. What are Jason's chances?" It was a question I was scared to ask, but I needed to know so that I could prepare myself and hopefully help Jason.

"I'm afraid it's not good. He spent days in there with Felton biting and scratching every day. The scratches didn't work but couple with that many bites, I think it's almost certain he'll change the next full moon. If he comes down to Hotshot we'll help him."

"Thank-you."

"Was there a blood offence on any of these incidents?"

"No, I'm fine." Whatever happened after a blood offence I don't think I wanted to know. It was probably also best not to mention the scratches I'd gotten last night as they were completely healed and I wasn't sure if I was allowed to tell that vampire blood could stop Were infection.

"Right, I thank you for the drink, I'm glad you and your brother are doing well but I must get back, it's getting dark." I cleaned up our glasses, kissed his cheek briefly which he enjoyed entirely too much and returned home.

The next few days had been spent working, catching up on house work and checking up on Jason. I was immersing myself in everything truly human and it really did make me feel really refreshed. It made it easier to ignore the changes in my body that had occurred since drinking Eric's blood; my skin had a faint glow, my senses were sharper and I was stronger, faster and well, hornier than I'd ever been before.

"Here we are." Bill's cool voice brought me out of my thoughts quickly. When I looked up I found myself in the parking lot of a cinema that was in the middle of a strip of entertainment places; there was an arcade, skating rink and rock climbing buildings dotted around the central cinema. Bill opened my door, using his vampire speed which I could now follow, to do so.

"Thanks. So what are we seeing?"

"Daybreakers," he replied easily and I had to admit, it was definitely not what I was expecting. From what I'd picked up over the years, romantic comedies were usually chosen for the first date. "Vampire adventure type film, it should be quite amusing." I smiled in response without saying anything; it wasn't my ideal movie to watch, I would have preferred something a little lighter hearted.

We scooted past ticket sales, apparently Bill had bought them online, and straight to the concession stand where I was bought a drink and one box of chocolates. "Sorry, but I still can't always handle food very well." I nodded in understanding but I couldn't help feeling a little dejected; going to the cinema was a time to pig out on all the luxuries that were entirely bad for you and eat in the comfort of darkness knowing that everyone around you was doing the same thing.

He gently grasped my free hand and lead me to one of the screens where I was pleased to find we didn't head for the back row of seats which would have been just a little too optimistic for him. We sat in the middle of the rows, right in front of the big screen in the comfortable seats that I didn't have to crane my neck to watch the film. The lights were already dimmed down and we couldn't talk, but we sat in comfortable silence and he never dropped my hand. His cool thumb stroked slow circles on the back of my hand, even though his eyes never strayed from the screen.

The film, which was actually pretty good, Ethan Hawke was pretty fine looking and with everyone concentrating on the film it was easy to keep my mental shields up. All throughout Bill kept chuckling to himself and he was fidgeting with silent belly laughs when the vampires were turned back into humans. I had to admit it was nice snuggling into his side, the bats that kept flying at the screen were rather scary, and the silence that encased him was so refreshing I'd been sighing in content.

"What did you think?" He asked as soon as the lights went up and I began to gather my things together.

"It was alright, I really enjoy the cinema." I didn't want to tell him I wasn't too bothered about the film, if it had been up to me I never would have watched it, but the last little addition had been completely honest.

"I'll have to remember that. Come on, we'll go get a drink." He gathered my empty drinks carton as I'd already put the barely touched sweets back into my bag; he'd gotten a little shifty when I'd opened the packet, making me feel a little guilty. It was good that I'd decided to eat before I left home.

"That'd be nice."

The silence stretched between us once again as he led me by the hand, our fingers laced, to the coffee shop which was in the same entertainment complex as the cinema. The cafe was homey and welcoming with little booths done up in soft dark purple leather with cream highlights. Lots of couples were filling the place up, both the old and the young, and I smiled at the scene before us. We were quickly shown to a booth by a genuinely happy waitress.

"How long have you worked at Merlotte's?" At least conversation was flowing now, even though the silence had been comfortable and a nice change of pace from my usual life, it was nice to be able to talk.

"A few years now, I'm not entirely sure. About five years now, Sam moved to the area about five and a half years ago, refurbished the bar and opened it up. I've worked there since it opened. Do you work?"

"In a way, I own the little strip of shopping areas in Bon Temps, and as a vampire you learn to invest wisely. I do work for the Queen though sometimes."

"The Queen?" I asked quietly, the only Queen I could think of was Elizabeth the second of England and that couldn't be right.

"Yes, of Louisiana." I must have looked completely shocked because he smiled widely at us. At that point we took a few seconds to order our drinks, making sure the waitress was safely out of hearing range before continuing. I was being pulled in again. "Each state has its own ruler, either a king or a queen, they ultimately rule the area. The state is broken down into areas with a sheriff in charge of an area. The monarch's area is usually closely ruled by the monarch with no Sheriff." That gave me a little insight into the workings of vampire politics that I wasn't entirely sure I wanted to know but at least it was interesting and it gave me an idea.

"Is Eric a sheriff?" I quieted down though as our drinks were placed on the table in front of us, the waitress politely inquiring which one of us required the blood. It was still completely shocking that most people couldn't tell the difference between a human and a vampire.

"Yes. How did you know?" He was genuinely intrigued; I could actually read it from his face so he must have been relaxed around me.

"I didn't, he has an air of authority about him though, he seems like he commands people."

"He's the Sheriff of Area 5, which incorporates Shreveport and Bon Temps plus a few of the surrounding towns. I'm the investigator for Area five."

"What does that mean then?" The traditional pimms number one drink that I was trying was surprisingly nice and refreshing with a gorgeous minty after taste. I had to admit the minty part was a little more to help Bill that me.

"If there's any interesting cases or disappearances or anything I simply investigate, see what appears to be happening. I decide if it needs further investigation or not, which involves bringing more vampires in. It's not all cases like that though; it can be anything, even really trivial."

"That must be interesting."

"It really is, it's given me a new lease of life, a point to something." He grinned at his words and it was a real hint of a sense of humour I'd seen. "Which does bring me onto something I need to tell you."

"Okay, go ahead." I tipped my half empty glass towards him, giving him further indication to continue speaking.

"I have to leave for awhile, I'll be gone at least two weeks, possibly longer. I'm going on an investigation that's leading me to South American and Mississippi, I'm not sure which one I'm going to first. Probably across to Jackson then down. That's why I wanted to go on our date so soon; I didn't know how long I'd have to wait otherwise." He shrugged a little and actually looked a little sheepish.

"Don't worry about; I had a great time tonight." It was a genuine smile I gave him. "Take me home though? It's late and I have to work an early shift tomorrow." By early shift I meant the breakfast and lunch shift, I'd start at nine and go through until early afternoon.

"Of course," he smiled. He placed some bills down on the table, leaving a generous tip that elevated him in my esteem and we left.

"Have you ever been to New Orleans?" Bill asked during our drive back home.

"No, I've always kind of wanted to go, maybe during Mardi Gras just to see what it's like. I hear it's been rebuilt well and the festivals have started again." I placed my hands over the air vents in front of me, trying to get a bit of heat into them. It had taken Bill ten minutes to realise that I needed them on in the cold night as he didn't feel the temperatures properly.

"Yes. I've spent quite a bit of time there, I think you'd enjoy it. All of the museums, history, architecture and so much more. I may have to take you there on a trip one day." He was being a little forward, you couldn't exactly go just for one day, it would be at least a weekend event. Perhaps as friends we could go, otherwise he'd be waiting quite awhile. We were on the interstate, passing by a bit of a built up area with shops and a fuelling station at the side. There were several cars parked in, including a very nice closed cab truck with an Audi logo. I'd only ever seen one of those cars before. "Hey, isn't that Eric's car?" I asked, pointing quickly to the fuel station where the car was easing onto the slip road to join the traffic going in the opposite direction.

"I don't know, he has a lot of cars and he changes them regularly." The car in question, a Q7 had still been parked in my yard when I'd left for the date with Bill. I'd been wondering when someone would be by to collect it, I'd been curious enough to even contemplate ringing Fangtasia which was actually listed in the phone book. It was also the only means of contacting Eric that I had. The fact he hadn't given me any other method of communication had riled me which was why I hadn't bothered calling.

We spent the rest of the journey in comfort, listening to the radio playing country music softly in the background. We didn't really have that much further to go and soon we were driving down the parish roads heading for my house.

"Would you accompany on another date when I get back?" He asked as we pulled to a halt on the gravel in front of my house. The security lights were still on, illuminating my little old home and nothing seemed to be amiss at all and there were no brain wave patterns. Ever since I'd arrived home to find some shifters waiting for me I'd be a little bit more cautious.

"Maybe, I really did have fun tonight. It's just a little new for me." It was God's honest truth; I'd enjoyed my evening very much, his mental silence probably had a lot to do with it and I might go out with him again but I had a lot to consider first. I didn't want to give him false hope. For starters I had to get through the full moon with Jason, I had a party and date with Eric and I was new to this dating thing.

"Okay." He got out of his door and walked around to open mine. He held his hand out to help me, which I gladly accepted but he didn't step aside, he pulled me straight into him. Without warning his soft lips descended on mine. My lips moved against his cool ones, my hands resting on his chest and allowing myself to lean into him. His tongue traced tantalisingly across my bottom lip and I opened my mouth, so that our tongues could dance together. Then I pulled back, letting my arms slunk around his waist and turning the kiss into a hug. My face was buried into the crook of his neck, with my nose pressed against the hollow between his collar bones. The hair of his chest tickled the tip of my nose and I smiled at the sensation.

Breathing deeply I took in his scent; soap and linen mixed with nothing else. There wasn't anything truly unique about it; I could have been standing with anyone. I couldn't help but notice there was something missing from us.

"Goodnight Bill." I whispered before stepping away from him and walking quickly over the gravel to the porch, throwing him a little wave over my shoulder when I reached the steps.

I'd taken one step into the house when I realised something wasn't quite right; I wasn't alone. "Hello?" I called out, making my voice hold strong to sound confident.

"There you are!" An angry voice shouted from behind me, through the still open door and I flung myself around to meet the worried blue eyes of Eric. "Where have you been?" He asked in a much quieter voice that had also softened.

"Get in, it's cold." I huffed, my hand clutched over my heart which was hammering loudly. Eric stepped around me, closing the door behind him as he did so. We remained stood in the hallway though. "I was out with Bill that's all. Why are you here?" I asked with a little bit of a shrill voice; I'd only truly realised how weird it was for him to turn up on my doorstep in the middle of the night.

"Was it a date?" He asked possessively, completely ignoring my other question. It threw me off a little.

"Yes, his deal to help me was a date, he's been wanting one for a long time so it seemed like an easy way to get help. You made me the same deal. So, why are you here?" I walked into the kitchen, putting my coat over the back of a chair then popping a bottle of synthetic blood in the microwave.

"Hmm. You are still accompanying me yes?" I nodded in response. "Good. It will be a real date though." He grinned at me, showing a little fang that was actually quite amusing. "I tried calling earlier, several times actually." My gaze flickered over to the answering machine which was reading missed calls and at least one message. I actually felt really guilty "When I didn't get an answer I accompanied one of the workers at Fangtasia to collect my car, that's one of the reasons I was calling. You weren't in when I got here so I decided to stick around; you have a nose for trouble."

"So it was your car I saw." I whispered more to myself than voicing a true statement. At his quizzical expression though I explained further. "When I was on my way back from Shreveport with Bill I saw what looked like the Audi you'd left here at a fuel station, I asked Bill but he didn't know."

"Yeah, Nicholas came with me in the other Audi; he went back in the Q7. I wanted to make sure you were okay." I couldn't resist any longer, his words were soft and showed that he really did have a heart underneath his tough Viking exterior. I walked up to him, the blood in one hand, and gave him a one armed hug, squeezing him tight around the waist.

"Couldn't you tell where I was? I've had a lot of your blood."

"I knew you were nearby but no more than that, I was out stalking the woods when you came back with Bill, I felt when you got that close. How did it go? All I saw was his car going back down the drive." He sat down on one of the kitchen tables looking completely relaxed as he lounged. I took a seat across from him with a glass of water; it was too late for anything else.

"It was okay, he took me to the cinema to see Daybreakers then we went for coffee. He told me some interesting things."

"Oh yes?" He raised a very blond eyebrow at me over the top of his bottle from which he was taking a swig.

"Yes, he told me about kingdoms and monarchs and how you are a sheriff." I giggled as I said it aloud; I couldn't help but picture him in tan leather boots, tight blue jeans, chaps, one of Sam's shirts and a cowboy hat. It was delightful. I also couldn't help but wonder if he liked to play dress up.

"Yes, I'm in control of Area five, all the vampires answer to me and further up Sophie Ann." I took her to be the queen. "But let's not get over ridden by these things, I also came to give you some information."

"About the party?"

"About the party. A vampire will be over here at first dark with a car to take you to the bar, you do need a costume, I'd advise you contact Pam to check the outfit. Afterwards you can either return here, stay with me or in a hotel, my expense." He was smiling softly at me, his fangs full retracted and I had the distinct feeling he was actually being innocent with me. I guess there's a first time for everything.

"Okay, I'll see how I feel but I'll probably return here."

"That's fine, but if you change your mind." It didn't last long, his eyebrows wiggled suggestively at me whilst a chuckle emanated from his throat. "Right, I will leave you in peace, I need to get back in time for closing if possible. I'm glad you're okay although more of your trouble would have been fun." He stood, popped the bottle in the sink and walked towards the door slowly so that I could follow.

"So it's Halloween night?"

"Of course. You know, you smell a bit like Compton." His nose wrinkled in mild disgust but he took my wide eyes as invitation and buried his face into the crook of my neck, sniffing deeply which was quickly followed by a little sigh. "You're still there though."

"What is it with vampires telling me I smell? Bill said the same thing after I'd had your blood."

"We are a possessive lot." He laughed. "May I?" He didn't bother waiting for an answer though, instead he grabbed my hand and pulled me towards him with a flourish so that I was pressed against his chest. His lips met mine and almost immediately our tongues were dancing together deliciously, massaging and exploring. His fangs were down, their hardness pressing into my lips and I could feel the sharp points against my flesh. It wasn't the only hardness I could feel though.

Slowly he pulled away, planting one last kiss on my mouth before wrapping me up in his arms so that he could swing me around slowly. Laughter tumbled out of me at the sensation and I clung to him desperately as a dizziness washed over me. My feet soon hit the floor and I hugged him tightly, wanting to feel close to someone. His smell enveloped me, completely overwhelming me; soap, fresh linen and the underlying scent of masculinity and something just so uniquely Eric I couldn't even describe it. There wasn't anything missing at all.

"Sookie."

"Hmm?" I asked, still hugging him even though his arms were getting less tight, I couldn't bring myself away from the scent.

"Check your phone." With that he pulled out of my arms, kissed my forehead lightly and disappeared through the front door. Only a minute later I heard the growling engine of his car as he cruised down to the road.

I was making a habit of getting stuck between two vampires. The kisses had been blissful yet I'd still managed to enjoy one much more than the other and now I had two nights with my Viking to look forward to. I locked the door behind me and went to fetch my mobile which was buried inside my bag. I had no idea why I had to check my phone but I did so and I discovered a new message that had arrived only a minute ago.

The message popped up on the little screen and I saw that it was from an unknown number that I didn't even recognise. Strange, but I still opened it up. It was an image that had been sent, headed with Mr January. Curiosity over came me and I scrolled down revealing a blond hair with straight hair trailing down over a pair of broad, pale shoulders. His handsome face was looking back at the camera slightly, peering over one of his shoulders and his bright blue eyes seemed to be sparkling even in an image. My eyes trailed down Eric's calendar photo, seeing intently the defined muscles of his back. Then the image cut off, leaving me gasping with annoyance; I wanted nothing more than to see the rest, especially as he appeared to be naked. The text underneath was two simple words; _my number. _

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**So what did you guys think? You know I love reviews almost as much as a certain Viking Vampire. I also have news; I have a new story coming out! It's another Sookie/Eric and it's an entirely new spin on the events of Dead to the World, nothing like Cor Aut Mors. First chapter will be posted either tonight or tomorrow but this story will remain my main priority. I'll be posting C1 to see what people think of the idea. Look out for it. Thanks guys, have a good rest of the weekend **


	14. Party

**Hello, **

**So here's a long update since I didn't get one out last night, sorry. For those of you who haven't seen it yet, I have a new story out called Remember. I also want to thank everyone who reviewed the last update, you definitely helped calm me down lol. What also helped was the stricken look on Eric's face when Sookie said she hated him. Aww, can we get a big hug to the Viking? Also, AS is a huge guy! He literally had his hand wrapped around Sophie-Ann's throat and he towers over all of the men. This coming from the girl that's over six foot herself. Anyway, Charlaine Harris owns the wonderful Southern Vampire Mysteries. **

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Damn it. I had less than ten minutes until I would be picked up and I'd gotten another rip in my dress. I'd been mending the thing since I'd started making it, hoping to save some money which I had done, although I definitely hadn't saved time, or my finger tips. I put another exaggerated stitch into the end of the seam that had come apart, finishing it off with a knot that I didn't bother to hide. It was done but I still popped an emergency stitch kit into my matching bag.

I was already wearing the dress; luckily it was a section over my knee that had come undone. Just as I'd stood up to smooth down the material over my thighs, it didn't go much further, there was a sharp knocking on my front door. "Coming," I called out and I was pleased my excitement for tonight was showing in my voice. I quickly grabbed my bag, decided against the purse and collected an overnight bag just in case and stepped lively to the front door which I threw open without checking. I really had to keep remembering to check the peephole.

"Sookie," Eric grinned broadly at me as I opened the door, his smile was decidedly toothy with his extended fangs. I suppose I should be thankful he hadn't just walked in; I wouldn't put it past him.

"Hi," I smiled back happily and before I could say anything else he crossed the threshold of my house, pulling me into his ridiculously tall body to give me a welcome kiss. He kissed my lips squarely then moved slightly so that he could suck my bottom lip into his mouth, grazing the soft skin there with his fangs. All too soon he pulled away, the grin stretching even further.

He stood back, letting his eyes rake over my body and it took a lot of effort to just sit there and let him stare, even though I knew he liked what he saw. I was wearing a Sally costume, as in Sally from the Nightmare Before Christmas, it hadn't been my first choice but it had been a compromise of sorts between me and Pam who I'd grown to like with her sarcasm.

The dress came down to my knees at the longest part but the bottom edge was ragged, fraying everywhere so that the netting underneath which gave it volume could be seen. In true Sally style the dress itself was made out a patchwork of different materials in varying shades and patterns that had been rather tricky to put together with the exaggerated stitching. The top part had thick straps showed off my shoulders and plunged down in the neckline whilst still managed to cover up my breasts entirely. White arm warmers stretched down to the middle of my hand, decorated with black stitching and they came to the elbow. To top it off, or rather bottom it off, I'd left my legs bear but put on a pair of simple mid calf length boots with a two inch heel.

"You look beautiful." He whispered before grasping my hand and pulling me swiftly out of the door. He was wearing a tailored cut pinstripe suit in black with a brilliantly white shirt underneath; a large black cravat was tied around his neck. It managed to accentuate his slim waist, broad shoulders and muscles all in one go. We were almost at the car when I realised he was playing an understated Jack to my Sally. Pam must have told him and I smiled at the idea of him dressing to match me. It was so stereotypically cheesy I couldn't help myself.

There was another car parked in front of my house and it was yet another European sports car except this time it was a Porsche, and according to the writing over where the trunk should be it was a boxster spyder. I had a feeling that 'spyder' meant something good in the car world, as the Audi had been one too. I shrugged the strange thoughts off and sat down in the comfortable seats, smiling my thanks to Eric who was holding the door for me.

"How many cars do you have?" I answered once my seat belt was fastened; Bill had mentioned something about his cars during our date and I was still curious.

"About eight." He replied, checking both directions before pulling out onto Hummingbird Road at the bottom of my drive.

"How can you have about eight?"

"That's one of the reasons I like you, no one else speaks to me like that." I didn't know what to do in reply to that so I remained quiet, not doing anything except letting a slight blush tint my cheeks. "I have about eight because I change them regularly so the number fluctuates between seven and eight. At the minute though it is nine, I've acquired a car I had on order before selling another."

"Do you import them all?" I realised it was a stupid question as soon as I'd said it; this car was a left hand drive although it still had a manual transmission.

"No, some though. I love European cars, they turn corners. I also lick to drive stick, I feel more in control and the performance just seems better to me." His large shoulders shrugged and I was willing to bet he was inadvertently testing the stretchiness of the material of his suit. "How is your brother?" He asked suddenly after a few minutes of comfortable silence had passed between us. We'd reached the highway by this point.

"He's doing well. The scratches have nearly disappeared now, the deep puncture wounds have healed over and are scabbing up, I want to say nicely but they look pretty disgusting actually. He's going back to work in a couple of days." I couldn't imagine why he was asking about Jason, he didn't know him at all, they hadn't even really met. Jason meant nothing to Eric; the only connection I could fathom was he was asking because he knew I cared about my brother. That thought was just a tad startling.

"That's good."

"Will Pam be there tonight?" The trees were passing us by at a slightly alarming rate; it was good to see there was more than one airbag in the car.

"Of course, she's my second in command. Why?" He added on, sounding completely perplexed.

"I like her."

"Really?" He chuckled, turning his head slightly so I could see his raised eyebrow. "I didn't know anyone did. She's my child though, I should be proud she's made a friend." He said it in completely sincerity before chuckling at my aghast expression.

"What?" I croaked out.

"She's my child, I turned her back in Victorian England, London to be exact. She was on her way back from meeting her lover when I happened upon her."

"Oh, I thought you meant she was your actual child, as in human genetics." They did have a certain look about them that said they could be linked; blond haired, blue eyed, tall and strikingly gorgeous. Mind you, families didn't have to look alike and I'd seen people completely unconnected look much more like siblings. "You told me before that you had kids."

"Yes, but remember, I never saw them again." I nodded in response, letting the information sink in. I wasn't quite sure why it hit me like this. I suppose it really highlighted the difference between us, seeing one of his vampiric offspring lying around.

When I hadn't spoken for a couple of minutes he turned the CD player on and rock music filled the air. I didn't recognise the band until Hole in my Soul came on, Jason had gone through a phase when he was younger of Aerosmith and this just happened to be one I liked too. The grey building of Fangtasia quickly came into view and pulled into the staff parking lot around the back. My door was opened for me before I'd even got my seatbelt undone and I took the offered hand for assistance; I wasn't used to wearing heels. Somehow Eric already had my overnight bag slung over his shoulder which he was quick to assure me would be left safely in his office, along with my purse as I wouldn't be needing anything tonight.

In we went through the staff entrance, skipping the crowd that was lining up outside the main entrance, weaving its way between cars in the lot it was so long. Everyone was dressed up and I was surprised to find that most people seemed to be wearing some form of mask, even if it only obscured their eyes. I was lead into the back hallway and down to the door that I knew led to Eric's office.

"One moment," he whispered directly into my ear, letting his breath tickle the soft skin there. The heavy wooden door didn't even have time to shut before he was back by my side, bag gone, but brandishing a white half mask at me. "We turned the party into a little bit of a masquerade as well, everyone is to keep their masks on until midnight, after that they aren't to be warn. It's adding a little more mystery to the night." I accepted it and put it on immediately, managing to get the elastic hidden underneath my hair and hopefully not smudging my make up that was designed to make my faint tan disappear.

"What are the vampires dressing up as? They're already one of the most popular costumes." I'd heard several parents at the bar over the past couple of days exchanging stories of their kids' Halloween costumes; I'd been surprised at the number of vampires even though I probably shouldn't have been.

"Ah, mystery again." We were walking back down the hallway towards the bar entrance. "Some are random, others are vampires." Just as we reached the door he put his own mask on; it was exactly the same size and colour of mine except his had dark circles surrounding the eyes that simply made his blue orbs sparkle. "Please do me the honour of taking my arm." He asked with a flourish, holding out the crook of his elbow for me which I gladly accepted.

Then I was whisked into the thriving bar with bodies pressing in on all sides and the colourful crowd stretching from wall to wall. I'd never seen so much colour associated with vampires, let alone the sheer variation of costumes, yes there were several vampires and witches but there was also a beefeater, a policeman who looked like he could be a with a group doing the village people as he was talking with an Indian and a cowboy, as well as someone dressed up as Dorothy complete with a stuffed dog acting as Toto. The music which was usually rock of some kind was playing what appeared to be a mix of Halloween songs that was being played by the un-dead DJ. At the minute it was the monster mash. I wondered what would happen if Thriller came on.

"Would you like a drink?" His voice was deep, managing to overcome the loud music. I nodded my head whilst I'm sure my eyes were wide, taking in all of the sights around me. "What would you like?"

"Gin and tonic please." He didn't even leave my side, only gestured to one of the busy waitresses, as he led me over to a blissfully empty booth. We'd barely sat down, opposite each other, when two drinks were placed on the table in front of each of us. "Is it like this every Halloween here?" I asked loudly, hoping I could be heard over the music without annoying the people around us.

"Yes," he grinned back, clearly enjoying having his bar so full. "It's not conductive to talking I'm afraid but it's brilliant for people watching, seeing the diversity." It was true; I'd been doing my fair share of ogling the crowd so far.

"Eric, a wonderful party." A petite brunette walked up to us, sashaying her hips in a barely there costume that appeared to be made out of real fur. I couldn't make out what she was, I wasn't sure I wanted to. I knew I didn't like the way she was looking at me, like I was something disgusting that just wouldn't be removed from the bottom of her shoe.

"Annabelle, thank-you for giving up your time, I know you've already put your hours in." I knew vampires weren't big on relationships with each but that didn't mean they weren't attracted to each other and didn't sleep together.

"Keeping the master happy," she laughed and it sounded too high pitched, quite fake, but that was only to my ears. "Who is your companion?" Her eyes turned once again to me and I had to work to keep a sweet smile on my face. I couldn't see any of her; it was completely covered by a gold paper mask.

"This is Sookie Stackhouse my date, Sookie this is Annabelle one of the vampires from the area." I nodded my head at her, not even bothering to offer my hand as I knew she wouldn't take, just like every other vampire. They exchanged a few more utterances to do with the bar, something I couldn't quite follow due to the music but her eyes kept burning into him as though she could eat him. Being a vampire, she probably could, although I knew they much preferred humans. "Would you like to dance?" Eric's voice broke into my thoughts and he was no longer sat down. He was stood at the side of the booth, beside the petite brunette, with his hand outstretched towards me. I gave him my answer by placing my small hand in his large one.

I was lead to the dance floor where I somehow managed to recognise that Waltz in Black was playing. His hands slid to my waist whilst mine slithered slowly up his arms, taking in all the muscles, until they reached his chest. The crisp material of his shirt was cool underneath my heated skin and my hands rose further until I laced my hands behind his neck. Slowly we began to sway to the music. I hadn't expected him to dance at all, but I got my explanation when his head bent down to whisper in my ear.

"I don't like Annabelle; she causes trouble, not the fun kind either. You are exquisite dressed up like this." His breath tickled over my ear, making my hair that was falling freely over my shoulders to move slightly. We swayed slowly to the music, barely moving, yet it was wonderful to be simply held against his strong body, feeling truly safe and protected.

The song soon came to an end though and I reluctantly began to pull back, but I was stopped before I'd even moved a few inches, my hands were still trailing across his shoulders. I looked up at him questioningly and found an odd expression taking over his face, he looked almost tender. I was still staring up at him, sure that my eyes were once again wide, when he bent his head to place his lips over mine. He didn't move straight away, simply let his cool lips linger on mine, waiting for me to move.

After barely a second I moved my lips, kissing his bottom lip so that I could pull it into my mouth, brushing my teeth against his flesh lightly. It worked; he moved against me, kissing be back immediately and I felt his chest reverberating with an almost growl that made my muscles clench. His tongue slipped into my mouth to dance with my own. The fast pace of the music broke into my consciousness suddenly, reminding me where we were stood. Reluctantly, I drew back slightly, giving his tongue one last massaging caress before pulling back completely.

"We're on the dance floor," I mumbled and I could feel the heat that had already spread across my cheeks.

"Yes, what's the problem?" One of his hands brought my head up to meet his eyes, using my chin for leverage. His blue eyes were bright as they stared back at me, and I could see the honest curiosity in them. He really couldn't see a problem with kissing on the dance floor.

"It's not right to do it here." I whispered, hoping he could hear me. The way he was staring intently at my lips I was sure he could probably make the words out without any sound at all. Lust was building in his eyes too, and it was only accentuated by the flicker of his tongue licking along his lips as though he was savouring my taste.

"I don't think so," he whispered back, leaning close so that I could hear him.

"But I do, so you won't do anything." I replied indignantly and he chuckled loudly in my ear, the grin spreading wider across his lips, making him look decidedly toothy.

"Okay, then let me introduce you to Pam." He took half a step back from me, letting his hands fall from my waist so that he was lightly holding one of my forearms which he used to gently pull me towards the bar.

There was a young woman stood at the bar dressed as a Victorian lady in an elegant dress with blonde hair flowing in soft ringlets over her shoulders. The dress was pale blue and accentuated the slender waist before fanning out over the hips to give her a full figure. When we approached she looked up and I saw her eyes were blue too but she was wearing an expression that could only be described as unbelievably bored. She also wasn't wearing mask, she appeared to be the only one in the building that wasn't.

"Eric, why do I have to wear this dress? I haven't worn anything like this in nearly two centuries, I was planning on it being a lot longer." Her eyes had filled with fire and she turned all of her energy on Eric who seemed only amused.

"It's Halloween, I thought that was your favourite holiday."

"It is, or rather it was my favourite, tonight it simply a drag. Oh, hello there." She turned to look at me, realising I was stood there. Her expression changed immediately though, changing to hunger and I wasn't entirely sure which form it was.

"Pam, this is Sookie, Sookie this is Pam."

"Hello, it's nice to finally meet you!" I said cheerfully, offering my hand out before realising it was a bit of a faux pas. "Thanks for the advice."

"Oh don't mention it; you seem to have managed it splendidly." Her eyes roamed over my body but her fangs remained retracted and teasing smile was spread across her lips.

"Two more hours Pam and the bar will be closed. I believe it's Chow that is closing up tonight anyway."

The music cut out then, a glance at the clock revealed it was midnight, and a countdown began over the stereo system. It was cheesy yet contagious as the regulars and tourists began to chant along, some already clasping the side of their masks for the great reveal. I could hear the worried thoughts coming from a few of the couples on the dance floor, they barely made it through my shields but it was actually amusing to listen into. They were worried about what their partners looked like underneath, no one had arrived apparently with whoever they were dancing with.

As the number one was yelled out amongst the crowd masks were torn off of faces before being thrown into the air and abandoned. I pulled mine off quickly, letting it flutter down to the bar and remain there. I smiled as I saw Eric's join mine and I looked up to see his handsome face in all its glory, a happy smile on his face at the sight of so many people having a good time in his bar. The music started up, louder than ever, and we were thrown back into our own private little bubble, of course, Pam was still there.

"Sookie, someone is watching you." She told me as though it was at great expense to her.

"What?"

"The woman over there, as a slutty vampire, she keeps glancing at you." Startled I glanced around until I found the girl she was referring to. She was actually quite pretty with jet black hair covering her slender shoulders and a normal amount of make-up that she'd used to accentuate her features, unlike most of the other people dressed as vampires. I didn't know here, didn't even recognise her but she was definitely glancing over at me even though she knew she'd been spotted.

Eric began talking with Pam about something to do with the bar whilst simultaneously ordering another round of drinks from the bar tender with only a flick of his hand. His hand was still resting on my shoulder possessively though and I realised it was our joining that she was looking at, not me in general. Curious I lowered my shields slightly and focused on her, letting her thoughts filter through. _How the hell did she manage to land that! Shelly says she's crazy, works the bar she likes, off her cracker and all that. Quite pretty but she landed the Viking. Everyone wants the Viking._ I pulled up, slamming my shields down having heard everything I needed. It wasn't anything sinister, I'd heard much, much worse over the years and it actually made me feel good. I'd been called pretty and I'd landed the vampire that could pretty much have anyone he wanted. But right now, he wanted me.

"You okay?" Eric's voice brought me out of my thoughts quickly and I found him looking at me with yet another amused expression. It seemed I was the best form of entertainment around here.

"Yes," I replied, nodding my head for good measure. Another gin and tonic was placed in my hand which reminded me that I'd only had about half of the last one before it was lost to the bar. I took a sip, letting my drink of choice pleasure my taste buds.

I'm not entirely sure what happened over the next hour, we remained at the bar although I spent most of it sat down on one of the high chairs, sandwiched between a standing Pam and Eric. Conversation flowed easily between them and I realised how close they really were, I was slightly envious, I had no friends like that. They asked me questions as well, purposefully including me even though I couldn't offer much of an opinion on the things to do with the bar itself although I had plenty to say about staffing.

"You ready to go?" Eric asked me at about one AM and I couldn't believe I was still perfectly awake; tiredness hadn't even begun to set in at the edges of my mind. I was having a good night, even whilst surrounded by lots of people.

"Yeah, sure."

"The bar's closing in an hour, last orders in only a few minutes." I hopped down from the stool, finishing off the last little bit of yet another glass that had been given to me by the bar tender. Even though we'd had several drinks, I'd never seen any monetary exchange; I suppose that was one of the perks of being the boss. I slipped my hand onto the crook of his elbow as he manoeuvred us through the still heavy crowd, and I remembered almost too late to throw a waving goodbye to Pam who only rolled her eyes slightly in return.

"I'll just grab your bag." I think his lips grazed my cheek then, giving me a fleeting kiss, but he was gone from my side before I could ask about his strange behaviour. My hand was still held up to my cheek in contemplation when he returned, my bag slung over his shoulder and his suit jacket over the over. His shirt was now un-tucked with the ends rather dishevelled, making him look more relaxed.

We were in the car with the engine rumbling as quietly as it could before he asked the question that I hadn't thought about the answer to yet. It appeared he'd almost forgot to ask as well. "Where would you like me to take you?" He wasn't pressuring me and I think that's what made me decide. He acted around me tonight like I hadn't expected, I felt special in his presence and the memory of how he'd made me feel when I was taking his blood certainly helped.

"Take me to yours please."

His house, which we arrived at only five minutes later, was not what I'd expected at all. The house which was only one storey was situated within a new suburb of Shreveport on the Bon Temps side and it was nestled between two houses on either side which were exactly the same except for the gardens. The gardens on either side were lavishly planted with flowers that were still flowering in autumn and the grass was perfectly tendered. In contrast, Eric's garden was just a flat patch of grass that was neat but in need of another cut with nothing else.

We parked in the extensive garage which seemed to have taken up another room of the house as three other cars were parked in there and it seemed to take up most of the front section of the house. My door was opened for me and we stepped through the inner door to the house and I found myself stood in what was left of the kitchen. At least I knew which room had been given up in turn for the garage and it was understandable, the only thing a vampire really needed was a microwave to heat up bottles of synthetic blood.

"I'll show you your room." He stretched and his finger tips were almost touching either side of the kitchen walls the room was that pokey. I also noticed the way his muscles were bunching underneath the white shirt and I could make out the paleness of his skin underneath. I placed my shoes which I'd gratefully taken off underneath the table before padding after him into the hallway. "This is where you can stay, the bathroom isn't en-suite though but it is the next door down." He pushed open the door revealing my room followed swiftly by the door immediately to the left revealing a bathroom. "Thank-you for the tonight." He told me rather abruptly, startling me and I turned around to face him. He placed an open mouthed kiss on my lips before pulling away before I'd really had chance to kiss him back.

"Good night Sookie. If you need anything before sun up I'll be in my room." He gave me a brief smile before turning around and walking through the door opposite mine. After his abrupt disappearance I turned to enter my room and took in everything.

It was sparsely decorated with no ornaments or personal objects but it was warmly decorated in creams and coffee shades. The furnishings were all dark maple wood furniture that matched the walls and bed spread. I closed the door behind me carefully, sliding the lock into place as well. I rummaged through my bag looking for the pyjamas, a pair of leggings with a long vest top, that I could change into. By the time I'd finished changing and used the bathroom it was nearing three AM and I still wasn't tired. There was only one thing I could think to do and only one thing I really wanted to do if my tense muscles had any say. I padded out of my room and across the little hallway.

"Eric?" I called out softly as I knocked. The door opened quickly to reveal a shitless Eric who was looking at me curiously. I'd obviously interrupted him in the middle of changing; I could see his shirt thrown haphazardly onto the bed behind him and the top button of his trousers was undone, revealing even more of the spattering of dark blond hair trailing down from his belly button.

"Sookie. What's up?" He asked and he just sounded like any typical American even though his accent was more apparent.

"I'm not tired." Surprise flickered over his face and then he broke into a smile as he read between the lines. He stepped to the side with one hand still holding onto the door but so that I could walk into his room. I took a seat on the edge of his bed and looked around me, taking everything in.

His bed was a massive four poster with tie back curtains; I imagined it added another layer of protection from the sun if he chose to sleep in his bedroom. All the furniture was elegant mahogany with pretty swirling designs that I wouldn't have guessed up with all of the time in the world. There were still no ornaments as such although there were images on every wall that were depicting different period in history although most featured something to do with the Vikings or Scandinavia. Little artefacts littered every surface although I had the feeling that everything was placed exactly and had its own little home. Another door on the same side as the door to the hallway was partially open and I could make out an en-suite bathroom which appeared to be huge.

I was suddenly nervous with my heart beating madly in my chest and a prickly heat setting in down my spine. Out of nervous habit I tied my hair up loosely in a pony tail at the back of my head. He slowly closed the door to walk over to me and I stared as his muscled moved slightly in his stomach with the movement causing muscles low in stomach to clench tightly. I knew I'd back out if I didn't start something soon. That's what inexperience will do to you.

I stood up as soon as he was close enough, going up onto tip toe so that I could kiss his soft lips easily. My arms snaked around his neck instantly whilst his wrapped around my waist pulling me off of the floor. Instinctively my legs wrapped around his waist with my ankles locking behind his back without even breaking our lips which were moving in rhythm together with fervour. Our mouths opened and our tongues dashed out to meet each other, massaging and caressing. I explored his mouth, rolling my tongue other his hard fangs and scraping the flesh across the sharp tip carefully.

His hands roamed further down my body, coming to rest on my butt, pulling me in lower and closer on his body so I could feel him hard against me. Without even realising we were falling I felt the soft mattress and duvet against my back. His lips left mine to trail open mouthed kisses down my neck, just letting me feel the sharp teeth. A moan escaped me and I scarcely recognised it as my own. It was mirrored a split second later with a growl as Eric's hand explored my body and he finally came to rest over my chest. He discovered I wasn't wearing a bra since I was only in my pyjamas.

"Sookie." He growled against the tender skin of my neck and he was pressed so close again my I could feel the reverberations in his chest.

"Eric," I whispered back. My hands had minds of their own as they trailed from the back of his neck into his hair, tugging gently on the strands wrapped around my fingers. "Please." I added trying desperately to convey what I meant.

His hands gripped onto the sides of the vest top, his fingers grasping the hem and his powerful arms pulled, ripping the material from me so that my chest was bare before him. His cool lips met my burning flesh again and I could feel his tongue licking against my skin leaving a wet trail from neck to between my breasts. He moved upwards, blowing cool air against my flesh that made me squirm and arch up against him.

"Lover," he whispered, barely audible as his mouth hovered over my left nipple. His eyes blazed up to mine as I stared back and without breaking eye contact he sucked the sensitive flesh into his mouth.

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**So what did you think? Are they going all the way? Will he take blood? I'm just being a little evil lol. Thanks for reading and you know I love reviews**


	15. Bliss

**Hello, **

**Here's the next update, it's pretty short but I couldn't leave you all hanging until tomorrow, not after the reviews I got lol. As everyone voted unanimously, those who gave their opinion on the last couple of questions, I give you this update. Charlaine Harris owns the wonderful Southern Vampire Mysteries. **

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With hands that had a mind of their own I pushed on his shoulders, moving him back which I only did because he was letting me. He went up to his knees on the mattress and I pulled on his shoulders to heave myself to my knees. My arms then wrapped around his neck whilst his roamed up and down my sides, his fingertips trailing lightly across the skin making me quiver. Our lips met in a fiery kiss and I immediately pulled his bottom lip into my mouth, using my teeth to bite down enough dent the flesh. His deep rumbling moan was my reward and it reminded me of my previous goal.

My arms unwound from around his neck and my hands trailed down his body feeling the hard muscles underneath my palms that only made muscles low in my stomach clench tighter. I went down until I felt his jeans and I turned my gaze away from his eyes to look at my goal. With fumbling fingers I undid the zip, thankful the button was already open, and I pushed the trousers down. He was going commando. He was rigid and huge and I couldn't quite believe what I was seeing.

He grinned at my response and pushed me roughly back onto my back so that he could loom over me once again. His eyes stared into me, making sure I was keeping eye contact and then he stood up swiftly, never loosing balance, to remove his trousers. He was kneeling between my legs in less than a second and his immediately went to the top of my legs, hooking his finger underneath the elastic. He continued to stare up at me as he pulled them down, even though his body got lower and lower as he removed my last item of clothing. Only when I was completely naked did he look down at me.

His eyes widened with shock before a cat that got the cream grin spread across his oh so kissable lips. "Oh lover," he whispered and his voice wasn't anything but a growl it was so low. Then he crawled back up my body, kissing his way from the point where stomach became lower parts that were screaming in need in my head. His lean yet muscular body slid along mine and I could all of him pressed up against me; I revelled in the contact but I still needed more.

His open mouthed kisses finally reached my chest but instead of paying attention to where I needed it he kissed the gap between my breasts, chuckling as I moaned in protest. His hands slid up my side feeling all of me and I breathed deep, arching up to him slightly which only made him press down creating glorious friction against me. He reached my neck and his kisses became more lingering, suckling and licking each place with affection until he finally began to nibble at the sensitive skin making me squirm.

"Do you want me?" He whispered into my ear just before giving the lobe a playful nip. To add emphasis to his words he thrust slightly, rubbing his hard erection against me which made me grip his shoulders, digging in my nails.

"Yes," I breathed for I couldn't manage anything else but the friction reminded me of something, something quite alarming. "You need to be careful." I whispered the closest thing to the truth. I didn't want gentle.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of you." He placed a gentle kiss on my lips, showing me exactly how careful he could be, I never even felt the hardness of his fangs. But I wanted to feel his fangs.

I kissed him back fiercely and I felt his lips smiling whilst still managing to kiss me back. His fangs were hard and sharp as I ran my tongue over them. He sucked my bottom lip into his mouth and I purposefully scraped it slightly across the tip of his fang so that a couple of drops of blood escaped my body. "Sookie," he growled against me and I could feel it rumbling through his body.

His hands trailed down my body then, stroking and caressing every little part of my flesh that he could, raising the small hairs there as I shivered. Then his hands were giving the friction that I so wanted and I arched against him, egging him on. One long finger slipped inside me and I moaned loudly after gasping in shock. After curling his finger to stroke me inside he pulled out, only to replace one finger with two and I actually called out with the new feeling.

Still stroking me he pulled his lips from my body to look into my eyes, asking a silent question of whether I was okay. I nodded in reply, never breaking the eye contact. Licking my lips I brought him back to me and his lips were on mine again, our tongues caressing each other and fighting for dominance. A new sensation began to overcome me at that point, a building pressure that was evolving within me, low in my stomach. It made me writhe and arch, unable to relieve the strain but needing desperately to do so. His fingers left me then and I felt him huge and hard, ready to take me over.

Slowly, and still kissing me, he pushed into me, filling me up completely and the only thing I felt was stretching. He kept pushing and I broke away from him, gasping at the odd sensation but there wasn't any pain just a delicious sense of something changing in my mind. His silence washed over me, calming me down and I sank back into the mattress and pulled him down on top of me. Ever so slowly he began to pull back out before easing forward again, being too gentle. I lifted my legs, wrapping them around his waist and I pulled.

"Lover," he gasped in shock. He began to move swiftly and the pleasure began.

"Bite." I muttered barely audible amongst the moans.

I didn't have to wait; his lips began kissing along my jaw and down my neck until he came to the juncture between my neck and shoulders. He licked the area, pulling the flesh softly with his teeth letting me feel the grazing hardness. Then he bit down with his fangs, breaching my skin and letting my blood spill freely into his mouth. His tongue circled the wounds which his fangs had retreated from, encouraging the blood flow. As my blood flowed out the pressure left with it and I was thrown into absolute bliss.

An unknown number of hours later we had finally satiated each other and I couldn't quite believe that everything had just happened. On my first time everything had been fantastic, I'd gotten more than I could have imagine and I hadn't encountered any pain which I'd been entirely prepared for. The other thing was I couldn't believe how much I craved him, that had only been the first time of several each better than the last. I was currently laying on my side, using Eric's cool body to prop up my scorching one whilst I was at least half draped over him. My arm was splayed across him, elbow on his stomach and finger lightly playing the little splattering of blond chest hair. One of my legs was over one of his so that I could feel the long line from down pressed tightly up against me. My head was resting on the crook of his shoulder where chest became arm. His arm was in turn wrapped around my waist, playing little patterns on my skin with his fingertips.

"Wow," I whispered and I couldn't help sounding like a teenager, it just summed up how I felt. I felt him laughing, sounding completely relaxed and I felt his stomach flexing with the movement. His chest was completely silent; he wasn't making his heart beat to comfort me, he was being himself which meant more to me than him trying to be human.

"How do you feel?" He asked once he'd stopped laughing and he'd become completely languid underneath me.

"Completely relaxed," I sighed, squeezing him tightly before letting my entire body relax, I barely had any control left over my body, I was only just beginning to lose the jelly like feeling that had overcome my whole body.

"Did I hurt you?" His voice was soft now, the amusement had gone. It struck me as odd a vampire was worried about causing me harm, when they tended to enjoy violence and blood.

"No, not at all, I thought it would hurt though."

"Well it doesn't for everyone," he shrugged his shoulders, moving me with them. "So what did you enjoy the most?" The humoured tone was back in his voice and I glanced up to find the cheekiest grin I'd ever seen stretched across his face. For all the world he looked like a young man wanting a bit of an ego boost when he knew he'd done well. The fact he was a thousand year old vampire that didn't need a bigger ego didn't really ruin the affect somehow. I think it help that his long blond hair was in completely disarray around his head and shoulders.

"All of it." I giggled back as the memories were brought to the forefront of my mind.

"Which part of _me_ do you like best then?"

"Oh, your butt but it must be closely followed by your gracious plenty." I replied easily and at his curious expression I felt my cheeks begin to flame.

"Explain? I wouldn't have thought it would be my bottom you like best." He was completely amused, perhaps I could do stand up for vampires.

"I happen to like your bottom and your muscles in general." My hand ran over the defined muscles of his stomach before returning to his chest. "Your gracious plenty though," my hand ran down again, further this time and he immediately began to harden in my grasp. "Is a very close second."

"You know it's less than half an hour until sunrise don't you?" I hadn't known that but I knew what he was insinuating; I could continue teasing if I wanted but we didn't have long at all. Not long enough. And I was beginning to get a delicious ache between my legs and on my thighs that wasn't really a true pain just a reminder of what we'd done. My hand reluctantly pulled away and I settled completely into his side once more, luxuriating in the comfortable feeling of just being this close to someone and the silence. "You are beautiful Sookie." He whispered after we'd been laying together in quiet for a few minutes. I turned over slightly, more onto my stomach, so that I could look up at him, read his eyes and I found complete sincerity.

"So are you." I replied without thinking and there went his eyebrow raising as he found me entertaining again. "You're very handsome I mean." He placed a kiss on my forehead before letting his head loll backwards again.

"Aren't you tired?" I was, completely exhausted but I didn't want to succumb to sleep just yet, I wanted this moment to last as long as possible because I didn't know if it would happen again. He wasn't a relationship kind of vampire from what I'd gathered and I didn't want to bring up the question I needed answering, not and ruin all of this.

"Yes. But I want to commit all of this to memory."

"Why?"

"Because this is special to me, whether you want me to think so or not. I know it's not special to you, I can't really offer you much so I want to remember all of this, just like it is." My eyelids fluttered shut so I could concentrate on the feeling of being held, his arm wrapped protectively around me, the blanket pulled up high so it seemed like we were in our own little cocoon, especially with the curtains now drawn on the four poster bed.

"It is special to me Sookie, and I know this has to be special for you. But you don't have to worry; I'll still be here when you wake up." Of course he would be, somehow I just knew he spent his days in his room, it wasn't like he could get up and make a run for it when I was asleep. Despite what I'd thought earlier, it seemed our conversation was very quickly taking a nose dive in that direction.

"I know you will, the sun will be up." My eyes were still closed and my tone was a lot softer than my words implied.

"Not just that, I actually _like _this." He seemed surprised to hear himself saying the words yet when my eyes flashed open to see him he appeared to be earnest. "Remember, I have you promised to me for at least one more date. I'm not going to be letting you get away quite yet." His tone was lighter and it was contagious, I smiled against him, as I thought of the promise of our actual date. "Sleep, you need to rest. I'll be here."

That's exactly what I did; I fell asleep in the arms of the vampire not for the first time and hopefully not for the last.

When I awoke the room was completely pitch black and I couldn't see a thing. My heart immediately started hammering away in my chest until I became aware of the heavy weight lying across my stomach. Upon investigation it was the cool arm of Eric sprawled over me whilst he laid on his front, still holding me into his side even whilst he was completely dead for all intents and purposes. This was the first time I'd truly woken up beside anyone and I couldn't even share it with him.

Slowly I sat up, pushing the arm away from me which took a lot more effort than I'd imagined; he didn't want to let me go. I fumbled with the curtains that were creating the complete darkness, trying to get them open but not enough to let any light in that could hurt Eric. It was only when I was stood outside the bed that I realised the light was actually coming from a little bedside lamp and not from the sun. The lamp was the only source of illumination but it was more than enough to light my way.

My pyjamas were folded neatly, what was left of them anyway, on the chair in the corner of the room where a black fleecy bathrobe was also draped, apparently for my use. I smiled at the gesture as he must have done it after I'd fallen asleep which would be when the sun was rising. It seemed that he been fighting his daytime slumber to make me feel a little bit special. My pyjamas were quickly put on, along with the dressing gown and I went in search of something to eat to appease my grumbling stomach.

I found the kitchen easily and found that he at least stocked some bare essentials which for me to use as breakfast was a bowl of rice crispies with milk, although there wasn't any sugar and a coffee. I was completely startled when I got a glimpse at the clock and found that it was already three in the afternoon and that the sun would be beginning to set soon. With that in mind I went to my room to grab my bag before taking a long, hot shower and getting dressed.

Once that was done I found I had nothing else to do, I didn't even have a book with me, and I couldn't go snooping around his house as that just felt wrong. There was one thing I could do though, that I knew I enjoyed and wouldn't be getting fed up of. I grabbed a bottle of True Blood out of the fridge, heated it up in the microwave which was basically the only other appliance apart from a cooker that hadn't ever been used, and padded back to the bedroom. Once there I placed the bottle of the nightstand next to the lamp and crawled back into bed with my vampire.

His arms wound over me slowly after a few minutes as though he was conscious on some level that it was me who had scrambled in beside him. Despite having slept all day I soon fell back into slumber and I only awoke when the possessive arm around my clamped down, startling me wide awake.

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**So what did you think? You know I love reviews, can you help push me over the 100 mark? I'm pretty easy to make happy; hug from a Viking vampire, little review, good piece of music, playing the piano, snuggle time with a Viking vampire, I'm sure you get the idea. I've just updated the new story Remember as well, so you might want to check that out. Thanks guys. **


	16. Message

**Hello!**

**I want to start out with a very big thank-you to all of you that have put this story on alert, your favourite's list or best of all, have reviewed! So thanks everyone, here's a hug for you all *hug*. I saw Toy Story 3 today and it was absolutely fantastic! Just a little recommendation. I can't wait to see Knight and Day now since the stars were on Top Gear. I'll let you get on with the chapter, Charlaine Harris owns the wonderful Southern Vampire Mysteries. **

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I shrieked loudly as the arm clamped down on jerking me awake. The body behind me was no longer completely relaxed, tension filled every muscles and he was hard as stone. My heart began to pound yet my breathing stopped as I waited, completely still, for what would happen. I knew vampires rose hungry and lusty, a bit like human men but the problem was multiplied, and I knew movement would probably worsen things. When the seconds began to draw out I swallowed, unable to not do anything for so long.

Then he shifted behind me and I wished I could see what was happening but I was lying on my side, facing away from him and turning around would mean exposing my neck. The arm still pinned me down so that I wouldn't be able to move my torso if I tried and I risked a tiny breath, needing the oxygen. Then something buried into my hair and I felt air washing over me as he sniffed deeply. Then the motion became a nuzzling feeling and he relaxed, the tension leaving him completely in one split second. I relaxed too, breathing deeply and letting myself sink back into him.

"Sookie," he breathed his voice still thick with sleep. He pulled back then, and I rolled over on my back to try and see but of course it was useless; the curtains were still drawn around the bed and no light was penetrating. The bed shifted, I felt his body moving over me as he stretched and suddenly I could see from the lamp filtering in through the open curtain. "Thanks," he stated simply as he leaned over even further, his stomach brushing against me. He was completely naked and he was quite happy to see me apparently, the physical acknowledgements were twofold. He grabbed the bottle of synthetic blood that I'd left on the table and he popped back down on the bed. He didn't bother with the blanket, just lounged back and took a long swig.

"What did you do with the day?" He asked between gulps and I could see red smears between his teeth, his fangs were also retracted now.

"I slept until this afternoon, I had some food and I had nothing else to do so I came back in here and slept some more."

"It's not very entertaining around here during the day; you could have watched TV or grabbed a book from the study or library."

"I didn't know where anything was and I didn't like to snoop. You have a library?" I asked completely shocked, he didn't seem the type.

"Yes, I'll show you. What time do you have to be back?" He popped the bottle onto the bedside table near his side and got off the bed where he pulled a fresh pair of boxer briefs from a draw before pulling a pair of jeans on that he grabbed from the closet.

"Erm, I'm not sure, pretty soon. Jason made me promise I'd call when I got back, he's a little untrusting of supes." It was completely understandable for Jason to feel like that, even with one of the people who had saved him really, it wasn't anything personal just against every supernatural creature. I was even forgoing shouting at him for being controlling over me, I was an adult and he'd never had such a protective streak before, not that he'd really had much change to show it.

"Okay, some other time then." I nodded in appreciation before leaving the room to let him do whatever he needed to do in privacy. I was sat in the kitchen, my bags by my feet, when he walked in only a few minutes later fully dressed. Somehow he'd managed a quick shower and I realised he hadn't washed his hair. The shower probably wasn't necessary; vampires don't sweat so don't really smell, their scent usually comes from the things around them, or using soap and things. "You ready?" He asked as he pulled on a plain black hoody from a hook behind the kitchen door. I wasn't entirely sure what I'd been expecting after last night, I was still slightly achy as well which was a wonderful reminder if I needed it, but this certainly wasn't it. I'd expected him to want to have sex again. My ego didn't take it very well, I hadn't even gotten a kiss.

We were soon in the sleep Audi sports car and tearing down the highway with the radio playing softly in the background. His next question through my completely out and out of the memories from last night. "How come you still live in the big old house by yourself?"

"Well, you know I don't date so I don't have a man in my life to share it with." I huffed a little; we'd been through this before.

"No, I meant, how come you haven't moved to somewhere smaller." His eyes flickered from the road to watch me for a split second and I saw the soft edges of his eyes, the relaxed demeanour and I knew he was being genuine.

"Oh, well it's the home where I grew up; I've lived there since I was seven when my parents died. When Jason moved out I was still in high school so it became me and my grandmother. I started pulling my way a lot more and we became dependant on each other. I learnt how to block her thoughts easily due to all of the exposure and she accepted me completely, no matter what. Back then she was the only company I could actually enjoy. She didn't want to move because she loved the little old house, as do I, so we stayed their together. It feels like I'd be betraying my family if I moved and I honestly like living there, away from the general town I can have my peace and privacy."

"I think I would have liked your grandmother."

"What?" I asked, stifling my laughter at his odd statement.

"She seems strong willed and intriguing which are rare traits for a breather, I have a feeling that runs in your family."

"You have met Jason right?" I asked. Jason was lovable, to me at least, but he was a complete scoundrel, he wasn't particularly strong willed and he was easy as the headlines to read so he wasn't really that intriguing.

"Not conscious, it's a little hard to hold a conversation that way." He grinned at me and I laughed back, letting my bubbling peels fill the car.

"Did you enjoy the party yesterday?" We were beginning to enter the outskirts of Bon Temps already.

"Yes, it was really fun, I think the number of vampires helped for some reason." I tapped my forehead to make sure that he understood what I was talking about. "I've never been to a Halloween party before, I don't really go to parties actually, and it was definitely the first time I've dressed up since I was a little kid."

"Good, it was a good party, although admit it's like that every year on Halloween, the masks thing was new though. We have special parties for thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year and Independence Day. You should check them out if being around vampires helps." I became very aware that he wasn't actually inviting me to any of the parties, just informing me about them. I was beginning to really worry that I wouldn't see him again, maybe except for the date, but no matter what I couldn't regret last night.

"When's your next night off from the bar?" He asked once we were cruising down Hummingbird lane, I was beginning to enjoy the ride of sports cars.

"Well I just had two nights off so I don't get a full free night for five days."

"Go out with me then." It was only a half question, more stated than asking my permission but I couldn't help the smile that broke out across my face.

"Okay."

"Same as last night, I'll pick you up just after nightfall and bring you back as well." He grabbed my hand then, driving with only one although it wasn't exactly tricky since we were only crawling up my driveway. Our fingers were laced together and I let his cool skin soothe me. His grip tightened briefly as we rolled to a stop then he gently released my hand and got out of the car, grabbing my bag on the way. As I was almost used to, my door was held open for me by the time I'd unfastened my seat belt.

He pulled on my arm carefully, so he wouldn't hurt me, and I found myself pressed up against his chest, hands gripping the tops of his arm to make sure I kept my balance. My bag hit the ground with a heavy thud but I didn't pay it any attention as his scent had washed over me and my eyes were intent upon his face. His arms wrapped around me, one around my shoulders whilst the other held my waist, pulling me tighter so I could feel the hard line of his body.

"Lover," he growled out and then next thing I knew his lips were on my as he leaned down to me. His movements were incessant, needy and I kissed him back instantly, moving in rhythm with him. My arms trailed up his arms, across his shoulders until they linked behind his neck and I went up on my tiptoes to reach him better. His tongue darted into my mouth to caress my own, massaging and exploring my mouth further. I moaned against him and I felt the now familiar clenching of muscles low in my stomach. All too soon I had to pull back as I needed oxygen and he pulled back a few inches too, standing up fully so he could gaze down at me.

"Thank-you for last night," I whispered against him and I noticed my breath was more than a little ragged.

"You don't need to thank me lover," he whispered just before he wrapped me up in his arms, pulling me off of his feet. I was laid gently on the ground and then he eventually let me go so he could pick my bag up and walk with me to the door.

"Do you want a blood?" I asked when we reached the porch, wanting to be polite was only one of the reasons for offering.

"I need to get back to the bar so I shouldn't," he waggled his eyebrows letting me know exactly what he what he would do if he came into the house and I couldn't help but giggle, at least some of the worry had left me since the car. "I'll see you in a few days." He placed an open mouth kiss on my lips, wrapping one arm around my shoulders in a tight squeeze and then he was gone. I looked over my shoulder and I saw him already in the car, reversing and then pulling down the driveway, resolutely not looking back.

I sighed but took a bit of pleasure of being safely home and still being in mental silence, even though it could get a little lonely every now and again. I locked the door behind me, dropped my overnight bag which contained the costume, on my bed and padded barefoot into the kitchen. I grabbed the phone off of the charger and dialled Jason's number whilst grabbing a few things from the fridge to make a sandwich as all I'd eaten all day was a bowl of cereal.

"Hello?" Jason answered sounding all too cautious.

"Hey, just checking in like you asked." I'd had no reason to think I could possibly get into any trouble last night, I'd gone as Eric's guest and I had the feeling he wouldn't let anything happen to me. I was amusing Jason but it did feel good to have him really caring over my welfare.

"Did everything go okay? No trouble?"

"I'm fine, everything went well. What are you up to tonight?" Jason usually had company, I'd kind of hoped that his recent experience that was tied to his escapades.

"I went down to Merlotte's earlier with Hoyt so the rest is just going to be in front of the TV." Well that sounded better than I'd heard in the past couple of days; before that he'd still been healing too much to be able to go out. I hadn't seen him in a couple of days but he was healing remarkably quickly which was setting warnings off in my head. "You?"

"I need to eat and then I'm going to do a few chores until I'm tired."

"Okay, well, thanks for calling." We said our goodbyes and I was left alone with my thoughts. I made the sandwich and went into the living room to eat, curling up on the sofa with the old blanket of my grandmother's over my knees. I held a book in my hand, prepared to read but I didn't even read a paragraph before thoughts had taken me over.

I had needed last like I'd needed no other night before it. Looking back it almost seemed as if things were building up to last night, even though there were no real significant marker points, except maybe taking Eric's blood to help me heal. That had been a definite corner stone; it had opened me up to what pleasure I could experience with a man by sharing passion and our bodies. I was no true prude but I couldn't have had sex with a man, unless it was for the sake of having sex.

I wasn't in love with Eric, I had feelings for him and I actually enjoyed his company with his boisterous personality and sense of humour, but it definitely wasn't love. Not yet and I didn't even know if I could let myself love him. I knew he was no angel, he was over a thousand years old for goodness sake and he was drop dead, well he was dead, gorgeous. The woman last night had thought the truth, he could have any woman he wanted and I'm sure he did. The thing is, last night he chose me.

I knew I wouldn't have allowed myself to go through with everything if he'd been the one to make the first move in that sort of situation, it would have freaked me out a little no matter how much I wanted it. Going to him had given me confidence and a sense of control. It had honestly given me the best night of my life. Now there was only the question of my future nights and what would happen within them.

There was definitely one more date lined up for us, in only five days, but there was nothing planned, not even hinted at after that. It was probably unreasonable of me to want a boyfriend of him, to want a steady companion who I could spend at least some evenings with and give over to my carnal side. Good heavens, one evening of pleasure and I was already planning when I could have sex with him again. It hadn't been making love, no matter how careful he'd been of me, to make love you had to be in love. So I had to make the most of what was before me and hopefully talk to him about what would happen, I had the distinct impression that he liked me but I wasn't sure what actually meant.

I pulled myself out of thoughts, I was only going round in circles anyway and I did what I'd told Jason I would do; I cleaned because, well, the house needed it and there's not that much else to do late at night in Bon Temps. I finally crawled into my own bed, alone, at about two in the morning with my alarm clock set for a lovely seven hours away.

Three nights later I was at work, the crowd was beginning to ease away and people were mainly finishing up their drinks and meals so I was stood at the back of room, near the bar with Arlene. This was the first break we'd been able to take all evening due to the rush for some reason; it seemed most people in Bon Temps had decided to eat out tonight. We'd been so busy that Sam wasn't even complaining about us chatting whilst at least one of us should be working.

"You enjoy your couple of days off?" Arlene had been one of my closest friends until not so long ago; we'd had major differences of opinions, and her joining the Fellowship of the Sun, but for these odd moments we could still have some good little bits of conversation.

"Yeah, I had a really good little break thanks." I wasn't going to tell her where I'd been though, that would cause the rift between us to turn into a gaping chasm.

"That's good. You seem a little bit different, something's changed." She noticed and I got it right from her head that she wasn't being malicious at all, just observant; she'd also hammered the nail on the head with her assumption of what had changed. How she knew I wasn't sure, she wasn't thinking about that but she sure made my cheeks turn crimson. "Oh my!" She put two and two together and she had her answer. "Who's the lucky guy?" She'd turned to gossip mode and I don't think I was going to get her back.

"I don't really want to talk about it Arlene." I stated cautiously, not wanting to insult her but really not wanting to talk about Eric.

"Oh don't worry now, just tell me, was he good to you and is he good to you?"

"Yes and yes, he's a very good person." I hoped she wouldn't pick up on that, but I couldn't find it in me to blatantly lie.

"Name?" She asked hopefully, her red eyebrows reaching up to almost meet her hair.

"Eric. Now that's it." I laughed, relieving some of the tension that I was beginning to feel. Just as she was about to ask another question, this one I read from her mind had something to do with size, my phone vibrated in my apron pocket and it gave me a grateful distraction. I flipped the phone open and I smiled as I saw the name that had come up. I couldn't stop the smile from spreading across my face once I read the message.

"Oh, it's him isn't it? There's only a man that can put that sort of smile on woman's face." The blush deepened on my cheeks and I quickly excused myself from her, going into the restroom where I fortunately found it free. Once in there I opened the message up to read again.

_Lover, you need to wear something warm for our date; long trousers, shoes with thick socks and long sleeved shirt, layers if you can. We shall be outside for most of the night. I shall see you at true sundown, it will be much fun. : ):_

Well that was a very intriguing message; I also took the last little smiley face to mean that his fangs had run down, it was the only thing I could think of for the strange emoticon. The message itself was perplexing, I could conform easy enough to the instructions as he wouldn't have told me if it wasn't needed and it certainly would be if we were going to be outside. The burning question was what in hell were we going to be doing?

* * *

**So what did you think? You know I love reviews almost as much as a certain Viking vampire. So any ideas where they're going? I'll give you a clue, I go a few times a year as in winter it's open outside of Leed's General Infirmary and I think it would be a little appropriate for a Viking. Thanks guys. **


	17. Seconds

**Hello!**

**How are you all? I'm sorry I didn't update yesterday, I managed to get myself a work experience job. I explained all of that in the note at the beginning of the third chapter of Remember which I posted about an hour ago if you wanna check it out. The rest is one of my rants :) **

**One of my friends sent me a picture today of an Audi,they sent me the picture because they'd come across it on one of the celeb gossip sites and they know I like true blood and therefore AS who was driving it. They only knew it was an Audi. It was an Audi R8 which I immediately recognised and so I'm seriously envious right now of Kate Bosworth who got to go in one of those damn things, which is in my top ten car list. I've been wanting to have a go in an R8 since they came out but I have to be 21 to go to a race day at Silverstone. If you haven't noticed I'm a bit of a car geek, anyone watch Top Gear? There's a new car written in here that I've had my eye on. I'm lucky though, I have my own little car, a cute green Clio extreme. Ah, I'm sorry this note is so long. Charlaine Harris owns the wonderful Southern Vampire Mysteries. **

I'd originally wanted to go to the local Wal Mart or possibly even Tara's Togs to get something appropriate to wear for my date with Eric but the tippers had been having a stingy week so I was left raiding my closet once again. I finally settled on a pair of plain black skinny jeans that I'd completely forgotten I'd purchased in the end of season sale last January and the pair of shoes that I wore for special occasions at Merlotte's, for example if there was a wedding reception being held there. Since I had no thick socks I'd had to go for wearing two pairs with a pair of slipper socks tucked into the bottom of my bag just in case. For a long sleeved shirt with layer I'd gone for a plain black t-shirt over which I had a long sleeved checked, red and white, shirt with buttons down the front. It would have to do for what we were doing as I wasn't going on a date in any of my jumpers and I was going to wear my old coat over the top simply because I didn't have anything else I could wear.

I'd actually chosen the outfit the night before and I was glad I had; I'd been called into work the lunch shift this morning as Arlene had to go and pick up Coby from school because he was sick. I was still finishing off brushing my hair and I hadn't even applied any make-up when there was a sharp knocking on my door. I glanced at the clock and found that Eric was precisely on time, surprise, surprise. "Come in," I called out knowing he'd be able to hear me. The next second there was a giant of a vampire stood behind me, staring at me through the mirror I was sat in front of in my room.

"Hello lover," he whispered as his hands wandered onto my shoulders where my freshly brushed hair danced over his shoulders when I shook my hair to loosen the waves.

"Hi Eric," I replied happily as I looked back at him. "I'm just about ready to go, I've just got make-up to go. I'm sorry I'm not ready, I got called into work and only got back forty minutes ago." I smiled at him apologetically only to find him looking amused. Well, it had taken me about ten seconds to say something funny.

"You don't need make-up Sookie, you're beautiful." His eyes were sincere as I watched him. One of his hands ran up, trailing through my hair, before caressing the curve of my cheek with one finger in a very tender movement.

"Okay then," I replied. I stood up to go, I only had to put my coat on and grab my bag. It felt weird to be going out without make-up; I always wore it for work as I got much better tips if I did and I'd gotten into the habit over the years of not leaving the house without a bit of mascara, concealer and lip gloss on at the very least, it had just been worked into my daily getting ready routine. "Do you want a blood or shall we just go?" I raised my eyebrows at him in question as I turned to face him and my eyes immediately went just a little bit wide.

He was dressed in blue easy fit jeans that still managed to be deliciously tight around the butt that were in a dark blue shade. I couldn't see what shirt he was wearing because he had a black hoody on that was zipped almost to the top where it met a chunky scarf of black and grey chunks that looked so snugly, plus it almost met his chin it was so plump. His hair was tied back loosely at the base of his neck, covering his ears and still flowing over his shoulders.

"We should go, the place is only open until midnight so we should make the most of it."

"Okay." I grabbed my bag from the kitchen whilst he waited in the hallway with my jacket held out I discovered when I reached him. Once snug inside my coat we walked out to the car which was another new one; this one was in a gorgeous shiny black colour and a badge I didn't recognise from this distance. I locked the door behind me only to be escorted down the steps and into the car. "New car?" I asked because something that shiny just had to be new.

"Yes, got it last night this is the first test drive so to speak." His eyes were alight with glee as he spoke and I had to engage him in conversation even if it was only to keep him happy.

"What is it?" I asked, trying not to sound too blond with my question even though it was probably a dumb question.

"She's an Aston Martin V12 Vantage in a special edition carbon black that I've been waiting for. I used to have an Aston Martin, drove like magic, a couple of years ago but she grew a little old, too many miles so I sold her and got an Audi."

"Why do you refer to your cars as she?" I hadn't noticed it before but now that I had, it seemed a little strange.

"All cars are females, plus you can honestly say you've had a good ride." He laughed deep and the sound filled the car, so much so that I couldn't help but giggle at him. "Some people even name their cars, I haven't done that though." He shrugged his shoulders and used the motion to extend an arm out resting on the transmission box with the palm facing up in invitation. I placed my hand in his and our fingers interlaced. I was liking this night already and we'd only just left my home, he was being very open and relaxed, not at all distant like I'd begun to worry when I'd had enough time to analyse his behaviour after we'd had sex.

"Hm, I might have to change that." I giggled and he glared at me quickly yet there was still a small smile tweaking his lips. "So where are we going?"

"Why, you'll find out when we get there won't you." He said good naturedly before putting the radio on low to add some noise to the background. We were heading toward Shreveport that much I could make out but that didn't really cut down on the possibilities as the city boasted a lot of activities that were open late at night to cater for the mortally challenged individuals that inhabited the local area. "What have you done with the past few days?" I didn't know much about cars but I could hear the difference in the engines, this car seemed deeper yet smoother, probably since it was so new.

"I worked a lot, pulled a double shift yesterday because the waitress who was supposed to take over my area didn't show up and you know about tonight."

"Surely there are other waitresses that could have helped out."

"Well yes, but there are only five of us in total because we all like working quite a lot, we all have our reasons for needing the money. Which is why I agreed to work extra too." I shrugged my shoulders to make light of it, I didn't want to be complaining on the date. He didn't reply to that, just hummed noncommittally and when I looked up at him he was deep in thought. He remained that way until we pulled up in a multi storey car park in an area of Shreveport that I'd never been to before. "Where are we?" I asked whilst clambering out of the car, using his outstretched hand for support to get out of the low seat.

"We're near one of the high schools, they run the rink in the winter to help raise money for some projects, they have special nights during the open months for vampires, tonight being one of them."

"Wait, did you say rink?" I asked. By this point we were walking up a single flight of stairs onto the pavement which was lined with shops and restaurants most of which were still open and getting a roaring trade.

"Yes, an ice skating rink it's about half a block over, it's run by the city school." We walked hand in hand down the busy street which held a truly fun atmosphere and laughter filled the air from the people milling around.

"How did you discover this place and why ice skating?" There was a distinct chill in the air that meant that winter really was well on its way so I shrugged down into my jacket making sure it covered my neck for the breeze.

"I was on my way to meet with a potential business partner and I happened across it earlier this year, about February, and I found when it's open. I've been coming about once a week ever since. I like the cold; it reminds me of my younger days. Plus, when you get up to speed you can't beat the feeling of the wind whipping through your hair." He smiled down at me and I saw that his hair was now loose. He reasoning was solid but it would have to be seen to be believed, he was much too giant to be any good at skating. The only skates I'd ever seen had been small lithe things with more grace and flexibility than I would ever possess if all of my years were added up.

We walked the rest of the way in silence. About half a block over, like he'd said we came a large wooden building that had the appearance of being made out of logs though they were just a cladding for the front. I couldn't see the rink although from the sounds it was outdoors, probably just the other side. We stepped through the glass double doors into a small foyer area that had a large reception desk behind which were lines and lines of ice skating boots waiting for patrons.

"Hello, two tickets please." He stated to the young female receptionist who appeared to have eyes on stalks at the picture of Eric before her. Flustered she quickly asked him for what I thought was an outrageous amount and he immediately handed over the dollars, including a bit of a tip.

"I can pay my share," I told him sounding confident.

"No you won't, you are my date and my dates do not pay their own way." He didn't speak with a harsh tone at all, even though he gently swatted my hand down that was already reaching into my bag for my purse to reimburse him. "Okay, then thank-you." I was slightly ashamed to not put up a bigger fight but honestly I didn't want to argue with him and I didn't really have that much spare cash for leisure.

"What shoe size sir?" The girl asked fully composed even though her cheeks hadn't returned from their pink state. I could 'hear' that she thought he was gorgeous and she thought he was human. It was truly startling how many people couldn't spot a vampire straight off the bat. With Eric most people came to that conclusion quite quickly, it must be a vibe that he gave off, but dressed as he was today he was definitely blending in more.

"Fourteen." Huh, I guess the old saying about large hands, large feet doesn't just mean large shoes was correct from what I'd seen the other night. "Sookie?"

"Seven please." I was technically a six and a half but with the thick socks I thought I best be safe, at least now the sock thing made sense if I was to be wearing skate boots. The girl behind the counter scurried off down one of the isles coming back quickly with two pairs both of which she placed on the counter to remove the plastic safety coverings of the metal runner.

"There you go, have fun and the lockers are just through there for you to put your shoes and any other belongings." She smiled at both us; she was trying to judge just how friendly we were, she was also thinking how lucky I was which simply just put a smile on _my_ face.

We quickly put our boots on, I did fish the extra socks out of my bag for added padding which caused Eric to laugh at me a little and then we were ready to go. He took my hand, which he never let go of for the next two hours, and led me on shaking legs toward the rink. Before we walked out of the long room which was lined with locker on the outside I could see the rink which was just huge. A good fifty people were easily skating round, in varying skill levels which helped put me at ease, with plenty of room to spare, no one even had to move to go around people.

"I've never been skating before." I stated quietly as I watched where I was putting my feet whilst simultaneously preying to not fall over too much. I knew without a doubt that I would fall over at some point, there was no two ways around it.

"Don't worry, I'll show you." It was only two steps out of the door and we were on the rink. Things didn't go too well with that first step; I made the mistake of putting my foot straight forward onto the ice and putting my weight on that leg as I stepped over the ledge on to the ice. Of course that sent me sliding forward whilst my other leg was still in the air. I squealed loudly only to be stopped in the movement by the hand still holding mine and another on my waist. "Just keep calm, you'll be fine." He whispered into my ear although he didn't remove the hand from my waist.

"Okay, thanks." I breathed out, still slightly shaken and I hadn't even consciously moved on the ice yet I forgot all of that though when I looked up into his eyes which were sparkling more than I'd ever seen; he was happy.

"Okay, to get moving you should kick off with one foot." He showed me what to do although he didn't dig into the ice so he wouldn't move. "Then follow through, trying to keep the movements as smooth as possible. When momentum begins to wane or you want to go faster use the other foot and slide it forcefully backwards, you can use the toes to push down it you need to. Then repeat and you move forward. Give it a try."

"Okay then." I wasn't exactly sold on this theory, it sounded just like I would go sprawling on my butt but I guess I had nothing else to go on. Holding my breath I started going through the motions that he had shown me, making contact with the ice and putting quite a bit of force behind it. To my utter surprise I moved forward. My hand immediately clamped down tighter on Eric's whilst the other was held out from my side to keep my balance even though my vampire was holding me steady.

"Now push back," he instructed softly from only a short distance away for what I was thankful for. I nodded, concentrating too much to speak, and pushed back with my left leg. I pushed too hard, loosing balance I somehow managed to topple backwards.

"I've got you." I'd cringed and tensed, waiting for the hard impact but all that I could sense was an arm around my waist and that I wasn't vertically properly. When I squinted out of my shut eyes I found he'd caught me well before I'd fallen and I let the breath I was still holding out. "Don't worry, try again. Little less force this time, you're stronger than your look." He righted me and showed me the correct stance to gain better balance which was really just adjusting the direction my feet were pointing. "I won't let you fall," he promised me and proceeded to give me the first kiss of the night with a sweet peck to my temple.

The second attempt went much better and I actually moved about twenty feet, with Eric moving effortlessly beside me, before I succumbed to gravity only to be caught again before the dreaded impact. This went on for some time, the distance between each stumble getting larger and larger until I was moving around the rink continuously without losing my balance completely. I was really slow though, but it was the only way I could go.

"You're doing very good," Eric beamed at me after our first complete lap of the large rink.

"No I'm not, I'm barely moving." We were going at about walking pace which was still a little stunted when I went for a push.

"Sookie, this is your first time. I'm sure you'll do much better next time." I think it was my dirty mind that put that statement into a different context about another first time thing I'd done recently. At least he'd said there would be a next time. "If you want to go a little faster try slowly upping the force on the pushes." I did as he said and the pace increased while the motion didn't become more stunted which I was a little too happy about. "There you go." Eric's grin was a permanent fixture on his face tonight and I enjoyed seeing it there, it made the one on my face stay there too.

After a few more laps at the new speed, I was reluctant to go any faster for fear of falling over even with Eric keeping a firm hold on me; there was only so much my nerves could take in one night, Eric broke the easy talk between us with a real question. "Would you like to go faster?"

"I don't think I can," I replied honestly; I was still mainly watching my feet and hoping Eric would be able to direct me around the corners which he had done. I was also a little envious of his grace and ease on the ice, but I guess that had come from growing up in Scandinavia, I still wasn't sure which specific country, oh and the centuries he'd had to practice.

"All you have to do is hold on." I'm sure what it was but something in his tone told me to do exactly what he said so I gripped him tightly on hand on his and the other on his hand that was gripping my waist. "Just keep your balance." Then we were moving along the ice at an incredible speed as smooth as though we were flying. The wind really was whipping my hair back whilst adrenaline coursed through my veins, exhilarating me beyond belief and I couldn't hold the peel of laughter back. All too soon, after only one lap, we began to slow down still going around the rink until we were slow enough for me to begin to help out so that he wasn't completely dragging me.

"That was amazing!" I laughed once we had slowed down further to the pace we'd been going before.

"I told you it a good experience," he replied happily after which he should his head so his head fell in front of his shoulders. "Now, I'm afraid we have to go, I have more planned." I couldn't believe he had more planned, this was more than I'd expected from the date which I assumed was going to be dinner or a movie. I was also a little doubtful that he could top this tonight as well.

"Okay." He took his hand from my waist so that we were just holding hands, our fingers interlocked. To my surprise and delight I didn't fall over, didn't even waver on the way to exit which was also where we'd entered. I admit though I was back to clinging onto him tightly as soon as we hit the concrete floor of the locker room where my legs began to wobble a bit as well.

We quickly took off our boots and regained our shoes, or in Eric's case boots again. It was whilst I was finishing up and putting the spare pair of socks back in my bag that he took the skate's back and I could hear the receptionists giggling laughter as she admired him once again. I soon joined him and she only smiled at our joined hands before wishing us a good night.

"So what are we going to do now?" We were walking down the street again, in the opposite direction of the car park.

"Flying."

"What do you mean?" I asked cautiously, I didn't think he meant in a plane for some reason.

"You know I can fly, I'm taking you with me." That's when I saw where we were headed; a deserted child's play area that was surrounded on three sides by trees that were leaning over the fence offering even more privacy. "Don't worry, it's perfectly safe, I can easily carry you." He walked me into a particularly obscured area behind a tall slide structure where he turned me around slowly to face him. His arms wrapped around my waist, pulling me flush against his muscular body. My arms went around his neck. "I won't let you fall." He whispered into my ear the same sentiment he'd used earlier and it relaxed me completely, ridding me of any apprehension. I was probably the first person that had gone on an ice skating lesson without falling once.

I squeezed my eyes shut and pushed my face into his chest. I waited for any form of feeling but I couldn't feel a thing that was different except it seemed to be getting a little windier. "Open your eyes lover." I did as he asked and found that we were floating in the night sky above the tallest buildings in the area all ready, the playground around us seemed only big enough for Barbie dolls.

"Wow." I muttered as I took in the scenes before me, actually feeling brave enough to pull my face away from his chest even though I missed his unique scent. We began to move then, staying completely vertical, and I could feel the breeze against my face, turning my cheeks ruddy. We moved slowly parallel to the street but above the height that most humans would be able to clearly see us. The people down on the street continued about their duty and it was strange to see them from this angle, as though I was watching some strange movie.

"What do you think?" He whispered into my ear again so that the breeze didn't steal his voice.

"Well, this isn't like anything I've experienced! I mean, I knew you could fly, but you can _fly!_" My voice was higher than normal in my excitement of trying out two new things in one night and I hadn't had a single problem with my telepathy; there really was something magical about being in the company of vampires for me. His only reply was a soft chuckle in my ear, followed by a quick nip.

We'd descended quite far before I even realised we were even going down it was so smooth. We appeared to be heading for a small parking lot behind one of the buildings on the main street. We fell in straight line once we were over the car park, slowly, the pace I would use to go down a flight of steps. When we reached the ground his feet came into contact first, he was a good half foot taller than me, followed by mine an instant later. There wasn't even the tiniest hint of a jolt. "You're good." I intoned at him as I pulled back a little bit now that I didn't need to hold on time.

"Why thank-you." He didn't really need an ego stroke but I couldn't keep it in.

"So where are we?" We were in the staff parking lot and I couldn't see any signs that indicated the nature of the building apart from a sign stated staff only.

"My favourite restaurant."

"Vampire's can have favourite restaurants?" He knocked on the back door whilst still look at me.

"Of course, they serve some very nice flavours of blood here and they're English, you can get some good old fashioned home cooked stuff here." I always assumed you went to Cracker Barrel for home cooked style food.

"Eric, welcome. Come in." The man who had opened the door wore a genuine smile that actually went with his smart suit that I soon found out was the uniform of all of the waiters. He held the door open for both us and ushered us down the hallway to the main restaurant floor where we were seated at a table near the honest to God open fire in the centre of the room. "What can I get for you today?"

"I'll take a bottle of AB negative and Sookie will order what she wants." He smiled at me and before I could blink the waiter was holding out a menu for me to take.

"What would you recommend?" I asked as my eyes roamed over the page that might has well have been written in a different language for the names which mainly seem to be in some form of slang.

"Denby Dale pie with a side of mashed potatoes, it's my favourite. And to drink miss?"

"Surprise me from the traditional list please." He quirked his eyebrows slightly but he whisked the menu away and left us in piece.

My drink turned out to be dandelion and burdock, a soft drink that I'd never tried before but was pleasantly appealing even if a little strange. My meal turned out to be a delicious meat pie that even had a little bit of ale in it for extra flavourings. The pastry was thick and rich too. The meal was simply mouth-wateringly good and I knew I'd be back at some point to experience it again, I just had to. Throughout me eating Eric kept talking whilst his eyes never left me, watching intently every bite I took and ever swallow. For desert I just went with some warm apple crumble with custard to help keep me warm as I knew we'd be heading back after this and tonight I was going back to mine. Again I wasn't allowed to pay for anything even though Eric had just had the one blood.

"Did you have fun tonight?" He asked once we safely belted into the car and weaving through the multi storey to get to the street.

"I really did; two new experiences plus a wonderful meal, you're spoiling me."

"Yes I am, I want to." His hand was holding mine as soon as we hit the street and he wasn't going around the sharp corners. "Would ice skating be something you'd want to do again?"

"Yes, I want to see how much I remember. I also think I'm going to get Jason to take me to that restaurant for my birthday. He usually takes me out for a meal now and we make a day of it in Shreveport, it's instead of a materialistic gift." We passed the rest of the journey in very comfortable silence, so much so that my eyes were more than half closed by the time we reached the entrance to my drive and I couldn't help but keep sighing contentedly.

"Thank-you for tonight Eric." I whispered to him, too sleepy for full volume, as soon as we pulled to a stop outside of my house. We were quickly out of the car and I rushed for the screened in porch, wanting to get out of the freezing breeze that had picked up. Eric was right behind me and I ran into him when I turned around once I hit the porch.

He didn't waste any time, his arms were around me with his hands roaming over my body as his lips moved intensely against mine. Our tongues quickly moved to caress each other and I found myself moaning against him, growing louder as I felt his gracious plenty already stiffening at our contact. That was how close I'd pressed myself against him. With a growl he pulled back forcefully even though he had a look of sheer lust on his face that screamed to me he didn't want to stop.

"Would you like a blood?" I asked quietly and I noticed my breathing was a little ragged even though we'd only shared a short-ish kiss. I couldn't find the confidence to just ask him to come in, even though that's what I really wanted, so I just preyed he would accept.

"Yes please." My heart did a little flip flop in my chest and I smiled before walking into the house.

**So what did you think? What's gunna happen? Hehe, I'm being a little bit evil again. Thanks to TheLadyKT who gave me the idea for flying. Remember, I love reviews almost as much as I love a certain Viking Vampire. **


	18. Calls

**Hey guys, **

**How are you all doing? I'm good. I spent most of today at the local horse show :) Me and one of my mates went out and saddled up two of her horses and went down to watch. We didn't compete, no way am I good enough, but we did have a good view lol. I start the new work experience placement at the livery stables on Monday which I can't wait for. They said I can take Lu with me too, there's four dogs that are down there pretty much permanently he can play with while I'm working. Charlaine Harris owns the wonderful Southern Vampire Mysteries. **

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I woke up the next morning in a relaxed state of mind even though I was sadly in bed alone. I had no other way of describing how my body felt apart from thoroughly satisfied to a level I thought could never be achieved. Eric must have gone to ground for the day, I wasn't entirely sure where he was staying though as he hadn't said anything and I hadn't been in any fit mind to actually ask; I assumed he'd gone back to his home before dawn as I'd fallen into an exhausted sleep a good couple of hours before dawn. I had no indication of when he'd left me because of course his side of the bed was cold; it had never been warm to begin with.

My morning shower was wonderful on my muscles that ached just a little when I stretched giving me a glorious reminder of the night before. The bedroom was a complete state and I couldn't but smile at the mess because I hadn't even realised it had happened we'd been too focused on each other. My clothes were strewn around on the floor, including the shreds of my pants that were barely recognisable, but what excited me truly was the plain white t-shirt with the v neck that didn't belong to me. My clothes were picked up along with his shirt and everything that could be salvaged was thrown into the washing basket to be washed later when I actually felt like it.

With prompting from a growling stomach I made my way into the kitchen to get some breakfast. It was whilst I was filling up the kettle for a cup of coffee, looking out of the window whilst the water ran, I saw it. Parked beside my little old car, making it look ridiculously tiny was a jet black car that gleamed in the late morning sunshine. The badge clearly stated it was an Aston Martin though I didn't need telling, I'd instantly recognised the car from the night before. Eric was still here tucked away in the hidey hole in the guest bedroom.

"Lover," Eric whispered in my ear as he shut the door behind him with his foot, forceful enough to make the lock fall down. His hands were grasping my waist as soon as I'd taken my coat off showing that I actually did have a waist that went in. I continued walking into the kitchen with my vampire latched onto me and his lips were placing featherlike kisses on my neck. It took all of my effort not to just fall back into him and shake at the sensation. I tried to walk to the fridge but as soon as I lifted my arm to pull open the door and his hands were on my arm, stilling the motion. "Not now." He whispered and his voice was lower than it had been before, taking on a very bass like quality.

I was spun around in his arms so that I was suddenly facing him, feeling all of his hard body pressed up against me and this time his kisses on my neck did make me shiver. I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling myself up so only the very tips of my toes were still on the ground, his arms around my waist held a lot of my weight. I needed him and I needed him now, the few days had been way to long.

"Eric," I moaned against his lips, barely pulling away to breathe. He growled in response and picked me up with his hands underneath my butt.

My legs wrapped around his waist and I ground myself against him, feeling the friction created by his clothed erection against me. He walked me backwards, placing me carefully onto the kitchen worktop so that I was perched on the edge. Then he backed away and I groaned at the loss of contact, my lips missed him. His large hands unfolded my legs from around him and he dropped down to his knees so that he was knelt between my legs. His expert fingers quickly unsnapped the buttons on my jeans and pulled them down. With uncoordinated hands I managed to push myself up so that he could slide them down my legs, his fingertips trailing down just afterwards, caressing my smooth legs.

He made his way up my legs, interspersing the open mouthed kisses with licks and nips at my flesh, hard enough that I could feel his elongated fangs that I knew he wanted desperately to sink into me. His hands kept my legs open as he moved upwards. He placed one kiss on top of my pants, letting air out as he pulled back which sent another tingling shiver down my spine at the odd feeling of the cool air. No more of my clothing was removed but as he stood up my hands immediately went to his jeans, unbuttoning them and pushing them down over his slender hips. He wasn't wearing any underwear and his gracious plenty was perfectly ready.

"Lover." He stated as he simultaneously kissed me deeply, his tongue powerfully massaging my own and he thrust roughly into me.

"Oh Eric," I moaned as my body shuck with the sensation. I curled around him, legs around his waist and arms around his neck, getting as close as possible to him. His thrusts grew more powerful, sending me writhing back onto the counter holding myself up with my elbows down. His hands left my hips where he'd been holding me steady so that he could unsnap the top couple of buttons on my shirt. My vest was pulled down roughly, exposing my breasts in the black lace bra. I watched as he stared at me all the while bending his head to latch onto one of my breasts, moving the cup away with his nose. Before I could prepare for anything his fangs plunged into my flesh. The glorious bite along with the deep sucking sent me over the edge.

I smiled at the memory, becoming aware of the water that was now running over my hand. "Oh shit," I swore eloquently as I quickly shut off the tap before emptying most of the water out of the kettle. I couldn't be wasting energy on heating up extra water but I wasn't too worried about the water I'd wasted going down the sink; the memory recall had been well worth it. I glanced at the clock as I put the kettle on and realised with a jolt I only had an hour until I was at work. Quickly I finished getting ready and got dressed, not bothering to pick the buttons up that I now noticed on my bedroom carpet that were from my shirt. I sighed sadly as I drove past the Aston, it was a beautiful ride and I missed it, especially as I was jolting around in my little old thing. It was only when I was pulling into the parking lot at work, right on time, that I realised I hadn't left a note behind for Eric like I'd intended.

I parked in my usual spot by Sam's trailer and fished for my phone whilst hurriedly walking into the bar. "Hey Eric, I forgot to tell you last night what time I was working. I've got the lunch shift so I'm just about to start and I'll be back about an hour after dark. There's blood in the fridge if you want and I'll see you soon don't worry if you have to get back." I signed off and set off to the front of the bar, tying the strings around my waist and popping my phone into the pocket.

"Hey Sook," Sam greeted me from behind the bar where he was expertly pulling a pint for one of the resident drunks.

"Hi Sam, sorry I'm a bit late." I smiled at him apologetically and stepped lively over to Arlene who I was taking over from.

"Oh Sookie, thank goodness you're here. Everyone's sorted down here I think, I just freshened up some drinks and there's been no one new in this section for about ten minutes, next thing should be some orders up."

"Okay, thanks." I took the order pad and pen from her, scouring my eyes over the tables to make sure everything was going good which it appeared to be.

"Did you go out somewhere last night?" She asked, already having taken off her apron so she was officially not working anymore.

"Yeah, I had a date, why?"

"I tried calling you when I last night and I couldn't get an answer, you must have been out pretty late, have a good time?"

"Yeah, he's a really nice guy." He honestly was a good guy, to me anyway, he always acted like a gentleman apart from when we were getting it on, and he made me feel truly special. "He's still sleeping over at my place." I added with a giggle which I immediately regretted as Arlene did some quick mental maths to put two and two together getting vampire.

"Sookie, is he a vampire?" She shrieked just a little too loudly, making heads from nearby tables turn to stare at us. She didn't bother waiting for me to reply though but went straight into a rant. "You know you shouldn't be making friends with them, they aint natural and they're only good enough for each other. I thought better of you; you don't want to end up dead."

"Arlene!" I whispered whilst I pulled her over to the side to get a little bit of privacy though I was well aware that Sam was watching us intently from the bar. "It's not right of yours to dictate who I do and don't see. I'm not going to end up dead so you can stop right there. He's a good guy."

"But that's my point, he aint a guy!"

"Arlene, I'm not getting into this discussion with you anymore because there isn't anything you're going to say to change my mind. "Just let me get on with my job." I huffed past her, striding over to a table near the door where a couple had just sat down. Needless to say the bad start to my shift just set the pace for the rest of it.

It was only half an hour later when I had to go to the bar to get a round of cocktails for a girls' night out table when I was sucked into a conversation with Sam who didn't need his full concentration to make the concoctions.

"I heard what you and Arlene were discussing," he started out. "What started it off?"

"She found out I'm sort of dating a vampire and she flipped out a bit." I didn't particularly want to talk about this.

"Oh chere, but what do you mean by sort of?" He placed two bright cocktails on the tray before turning to get a couple shots of Southern Comfort.

"We've been on two dates and we haven't had a discussion to put a label on this yet. You've met the guy."

"Bill?" I should have known that was coming with my last statement.

"No, Eric. He came in a couple of weeks back; he was helping me look for Jason, the tall blond one?"

"Oh yeah, he didn't seem too bad for a vampire." He placed the last of the drinks on my tray but I had a feeling he wouldn't take it too well if I just walked away.

"He really isn't, not with me anyway."

"Good, just promise me one thing Sookie." He was staring at me with a completely serious expression on his ruddy face.

"What's that?"

"Be careful, I don't want to see you get hurt."

"I will Sam, I promise." I smiled at him.

All through my shift, no matter how hard I tried to shield, I could hear the thoughts of every one of the people I was serving because I just couldn't keep enough mental function to be a good waitress with my shields locked down as much as I needed. It seems that the little piece of gossip of me seeing a vampire had been spread from the few people who overheard Arlene. Some thought were okay, just wanting me to be careful like Sam, others ranged from vampire hating to hating me just for associating with a vampire. By the time it was time for me to get into my car and drive away I was desperate enough that I wasn't driving carefully like my engine needed, my right foot was flat to the floor with the accelerator.

I parked at the front of the house where the lone security light, I must have forgotten the others, was lighting up the front of the house and I parked in the bright glow. I slammed the door behind me, pressed the button sharply and huffed up the steps to the front door. I slammed the door behind me, using my foot to shut it, and shucked off my shoes along with my old coat. I walked straight into the kitchen to feed my craving for chocolate.

"Argh!" I screamed as a dark figure turned around, I could only make a vague outline out in the darkness as I hadn't yet switched the light on.

"Lover," his voice broke through my panicking mind as his hands rested on my shoulders. He'd crossed the kitchen with vampire speed so I hadn't even seen him move.

"Fuck, you scared me." Oh yeah, I was in a bad mood if I was using the f word. My heart was thudding in my chest and I had been half way to hyperventilating when he'd spoken.

"I'm sorry, I was deep in thought or I would have reacted quicker." I guess that meant he was having what I referred to as down time, the shock didn't improve my mood any though.

"It's fine, just next time don't sit in the dark." I snapped, stepping around him and managing to ignore his completely surprised at expression which included a slack jaw.

"What happened at work?" He deducted quickly after only about a second, he was leaning against the counter at the opposite side of the kitchen from me.

"How did you know?" I couldn't lie to him.

"You called me at the start of your shift and you sounded cheery if a little flustered. You're back only forty minutes after dark even though you estimated an hour so you didn't have time to go anywhere else you came straight back here. Something must have happened while you were at work." He didn't sound condescending but actually rather worried about me.

"I had an argument with Arlene, one of my friends. Then I had a 'talk'," I used air quotes at that point, "with Sam about the same thing and although he wasn't mean, actually kinda sweet, it didn't help matters. And all day I've been listening to everyone's thoughts about me because I couldn't quite shield enough." I slammed my fists down on the table hard enough to make everything on the surface rattle.

"Calm down," he whispered and I was immediately wrapped up in his strong arms, being held against his chest and I could hear his breath rattling in his chest. "Breathe with me, deep and slow." I counted his breaths, letting the sound wash over me as I tried to match my own shallow, shaky ones with his. "There." He said after a couple of minutes but he kept on breathing as he continued. "What were you arguing with Arlene about?" His hands stroked soothing circles on my back but I could still see red as I thought about he closed minded outlook and that was the most positive outlook on her mind set.

"You." I whispered but then quickly continued when I realised how bad that would sound. "She tried calling yesterday while we were out so she asked me where I'd been so I told her a date. She deduced it was the same guy that had put the smile on my face earlier in the week. I accidentally slipped out a comment about you still being asleep and she gathered you were a vampire. She hates vampires and she started pretty much yelling at me in the middle of the bar." His muscles tensed around me yet he didn't grab me much tighter, it was still comforting. "She said horrible things about vampires in general and said I was stupid for dating one. She accused me of wanting to end up dead." His arms did tighten around me then, squashing me against his chest as his breathing faltered.

"I won't let anything happen to you, vampires offer me respect and the they will do you no harm, I will do you no harm." He whispered before letting his grip lessen a little so that my arms were no longer pinned between us, they snuck around his waist and his breathing began again as soon as they were in place. "What happened with the shifter?"

"He just wants me to be careful, there's nothing really in that one, I just didn't want to hear it tonight."

"The thoughts?"

"Gossip spread from the people who overheard Arlene, they were thinking bag things most of them all night. I just want to forget it."

"This Arlene, are you attached to her?" His voice sounded distant as though he was contemplating something.

"Yes, in a strange way, you don't do anything to her. She has two kids that I happen to love too, they need their mother." That was a scary concept; Eric was apparently willing to kill a woman who had barely wronged me.

"As you wish, but if you should change your mind."That made me gulp and if it hadn't been for his breath rhythmically leaving his chest I would have begun to lose it again. "Now earlier you said something about dating." Shit, I thought with emotion, this couldn't be good but I had said it during my little rant.

"Yes." I whispered meekly against his chest and I sunk every sensation deep into my memory; his scent which was mixed with my own laundry detergent (he must have washed his shirt through), the hard muscles underneath me and his protective embrace.

"Do you want to date me?" He seemed almost surprised as though it was a foreign concept.

"Yes." Another weak whisper and I hadn't opened my eyes; I was too scared of seeing a look of rejection on his face, it would be bad enough to hear it.

"Then we'll date." My eyes snapped open and I looked at him, finding a small smile on his lips and his fangs run down.

"Really?" My eyebrows were raised in speculation as I stared up at him.

"Yes, you're interesting and fun, have a flair for life. You actually make me feel things which is," he paused slightly as though searching for a word that would adequately describe his intention. "Odd. The fact you want to date me is odd, most people aren't bothered about that." I knew what he meant and I didn't want him to spell it out for me; most people just wanted to have sex with him and that was it, they weren't interested at all in the guy behind the front. It also didn't escape my observation that he'd said people, instead of women. I would have to ask him about that in the future. All I could think about at the minute though was a need to forget the day I'd just gone through.

As though reading my mind he bent his head down to kiss me and I couldn't think of anything else but the cool body pressed up against me. With roaming hands and mouths that never left the other's we moved backward slowly toward my room. The door was shut behind us and I'm not even sure who did it. The bedside light was switched on as my knees hit my bed. I collapsed backward, pulling my vampire with me as my hands were still wrapped around him and he left looming over me. We flipped over, I wasn't sure who initiated it but I was suddenly on top, tugging his shirt collar down so that I could attack his chest with my lips and teeth, biting down on the skin in between giving him open mouthed kisses.

"Gah!" He groaned loudly a second before a shrill ringing pierced the quiet of my bedroom. I could feel his mobile vibrating in his pocket and I knew he'd have to answer it. I rolled off of his waist to land beside him on my back. He didn't bother moving, just simply reached into his pocket and pulled the phone out to put it to his ear. "Yes." He growled in lieu of an actual greeting. "Is it really important?" There was a slight pause and a slight frown appeared on his face. "Fine, I'll be there as soon as I can." He didn't bother saying goodbye but after a couple of keypad presses the mobile was thrown to the floor with a thud.

"Do you have to go?" I asked, trying desperately to keep my sadness out of my voice.

"Sort of. I can't stay the night but I don't have to leave right now, Pam is being overdramatic." He grinned at me, showing me the extended fangs that I could now only associate with fun, before leaning down to kiss me again. His hands began to wander over my body sliding underneath my shirt to trace patterns on my stomach whilst slowly, agonisingly slowly moving upwards. Just as his fingers were going to slide underneath my bra a phone rang again. "It's yours this time." He stated a definite growl in his voice, as he leaned backwards and grasped the phone from the charge in my room so that he could hand it to me.

"Hello," I stated unhappily, wanting the person on the other end to know I didn't appreciate a call even though it really wasn't late at all.

"Sookie, are you okay? You sound a little off." Bill's cool voice sounded down the phone and I saw Eric's eyes begin to gleam in the darkness, this wouldn't be good.

"Yes, I'm fine; I've just had a bad shift at work that's all. How's the travelling going?" I was watching my vampire intently, as the smile flickered across his lips. Slowly, so that I could catch every movement he pushed up my white work shirt, exposing my stomach then his head bent down to plant kisses on my slightly tanned skin, tracing the lines the panther had scratched.

"It's good, I'm getting everything sorted, I shouldn't be gone much longer. What happened at work?"

"I really don't want to talk about it Bill, in fact I was trying to forget all about it." Eric's chuckle filled the room as he understood my statement he also took it as a cue to nip my skin making me shudder as a gasp escaped my mouth.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Bill's voice had taken on a slightly suspicious tone as though he vaguely heard something that he couldn't make out. I had to get him off of the phone as fast as possible to keep the damage to a minimum.

"Yes I'm sure." My spare hand went down to his head, weaving my fingers through his hair. I had every intention of pulling him away but he went lower, pulling down the top of my trousers and I lost all of my willpower.

"So what have you been up to whilst I've been away?" Eric undid my trousers then, pulling down the zipper before inching the material down over my hips.

"Not much really, I've been working a lot to make up for the time I missed while Jason was away. I went to the Halloween party at Fangtasia with Eric and we went on our date yesterday." That was a mistake. My trousers were pulled from my body completely and Eric began to kiss me again.

"How did it go?"

"Oh it was really good, we went ice skating, flying and then we went to an English restaurant."

"He took you flying? I didn't know he was that good." Eric growled against my skin, evidently having heard Bill's remark. His hands stopped trailing over my stomach as one went up to tease my breasts while his other hand slipped lower to slide one finger inside me.

"He's that good." I replied and my vampire obviously understood because he chuckled against me. "I'm sorry Bill, but I really have to get going."

"He's there isn't he? You have Eric there with you."

"Eric's hanging out with me yes." I couldn't lie to him, he could probably hear his laugh and my breathing was definitely taking on a strange rhythm again. "I'm sorry Bill, I really am. I'll see you when you get back. Bye! I hung up the phone and threw it on the floor to join Eric's in time to relax back and give my body over to bliss.

"When do you have to go?" I asked sleepily not long after.

"Soon. I am needed at the bar, one of the local vampires is kicking up a fuss over his hours and Pam needs me to put some sense into him." He wisely didn't elaborate on how exactly he was going to do that, I didn't imagine it was a stern talking to. "I have a little spare time, sleep."

"But you didn't." I whispered at him, lightly rubbing my fingers over him to indicate what I meant.

"It doesn't matter, I may be a vampire but I'm still a guy. Pleasing your girl is enough for awhile. Now sleep." I was already curled up underneath my duvet with Eric lay behind me underneath as well although he was fully clothed whilst I was now naked. He'd stopped his breathing a long time ago but the gentle movement of his chest started up again, slowly rising and falling. It wasn't long until I succumbed to the darkness of sleep.

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**So what did you think? You know I love feedback almost as much as a certain Viking vampire. I know this chapter was really lemony and I really didn't intent it to be this way. When I started out it was only supposed to be that little bit at the beginning but then it just evolved lol. The phone calls were supposed to completely interrupt them. Oh well. Have a good rest of the weekend. *hugs***


	19. Discovery

**Hey guys, **

**How are you all? I'm good, watching Top Gear :) I had a mundane life today which was actually kinda nice for a change, just lounged around and watched Michael Mcintyre DVDs; he's currently my favourite comedian. Any who, Charlaine Harris owns the wonderful Southern Vampire Mysteries and on with the update!**

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The next two days passed by in a haze of work, I managed to get a double shift which gave me another night and that's where you get the best tips. The first day I was in a surprisingly good mood even though I woke alone; it would have been nice but I hadn't really expected to wake up in the morning sunshine with a vampire. Then I got sucked down into work to try and get some extra money together as Christmas was beginning to dawn on the horizon and that meant present buying.

The second evening since my date with Eric I ended up with a visitor which meant it was time for a conversation that I desperately needed to have but that I wasn't looking forward to at all. I'd regretted the phone call with Bill, at little guilt at least, the morning after it had happened but he needed to know the truth and not just from what he heard over the phone, which I'm sure was everything. He deserved to have a conversation with me and I'd been mentally preparing myself for it as well. What I wasn't prepared for was how quickly it came to pass.

I'd just stepped out of the shower after working the evening shift at the bar, I'd had a drink of pop spilt on me completely by accident and I'd felt ridiculously sticky for the rest of the evening. I'd dressed in my yoga pants and a sweater as I wanted to be comfy but it was just a little too early for pyjamas; I'm one of those people that you put pyjamas on and you're instantly sleepy. I was still towel drying my hair when there was knock on the front door.

"I'm on my way!" I called out loudly, hoping that whoever it was would be able to hear me. I popped the towel onto the top of the laundry basket before slipping my feet into a pair of flip flops that would serve as my slippers. I opened the door without checking the peephole; I really had to maintain that little habit. "Hi Bill." I stated slightly unhappily. I stood aside, pulling the door open wider so that he could come inside. "Would you like a bottle of blood?" I may have been about to hash out a conversation with him but I still had to be polite; my grandmother would have turned in her grave if I hadn't offered.

"Hello Sookie and yes please." He smiled at me charmingly as he stepped past me and headed into the kitchen without being told. "How are you this evening?"

"I'm good thanks, you?" I followed him closely after shutting the door and went straight about heating him up a bottle of blood; I didn't bother to check what type as I only a couple of bottles left.

"Yes, I got back from my trip very early this morning so I thought I'd come over and see you. I wanted to find out what went on whilst I was away." He sounded ominous and that just wasn't a good thing, vampires were scary enough without sounding ominous.

"Ah, yes. I think we need to have this talk too." The microwave pinged and I grabbed the bottle to put on the table in front of him before taking my seat opposite. "About the phone call, the first thing I want to say is that I'm sorry. It was rude and well, a bit mean and I should never have let it happen." I smiled at him weakly, letting him see the guilt that had been building up inside me, albeit slowly.

"Your apology is accepted Sookie, don't worry. I did think it was a little out of character. So, do you have plans to see Eric again?" I have to admit that the last utterance did have a bit of a sting with it; Eric had agreed to dating, sounded quite happy about it actually, but I hadn't heard from him in two days and we didn't have any plans to meet up yet.

"Not really." It was the best answer I could give with my slightly ambiguous situation without lying to Bill.

"Good." Now that statement set me on the defensive and it didn't warm Bill to me any either. "Would you accompany me on another date?" He had a hopeful gleam in his eyes and I felt bad that I was about to tell him a complete no, but I had to extinguish that particular gleam.

"I'm sorry Bill, but I can't," I started out but before I could continue he interrupted me.

"We can wait awhile; I know you have Jason to think about at the minute." Now probably wasn't the best time to admit that I hadn't seen him in awhile, I'd barely spoken to him as he was still taking the I want to be alone thing.

"Bill, it's not because of Jason. I just can't date you I'm afraid. I'm sorry. The date we had was nice but I didn't feel anything between us, it was your condition to helping me find Jason. I'm also dating Eric now." I watched as Bill's face went from hopeful to stony and then settled on angry with his eyes squinting and nostrils flared even though he wasn't breathing.

"What? You two go on one date together, that was part of your agreement with him and now you're dating! We had the same thing but we don't get that? We could be really good together Sookie, I can feel it." He slapped his hands down flat on the table and I slunk back in my seat.

"Yes we've only been out on one date but we had the party together too. There's something between us, he actually feels it too, so we're going to start dating. He makes me feel special, when I'm with him it's, well it's cheesy and cliché, but it's like he only has eyes for me. He lets me be completely human, he finds it fascinating." Bill stared at me, his eyes never leaving mine as though he was searching for something deep inside me. His look sent tiny shivers don't my spine that sent the hairs on the back of my neck standing to attention.

"I don't make you feel special? Sookie, you're beautiful, funny and smart, how can you not feel special?"

"Bill, you didn't do anything wrong it's just that Eric did extra things. He took me ice skating and he held my hand all the time, he didn't let me fall once and then he took me to an English restaurant knowing that I'd never done those two things before. Bill when we went out I actually felt guilty about eating in the cinema where you're supposed to pig out." I stood up then to pace behind the table, I couldn't remain sat down with him and I just had to move.

"So you've made your choice. You're choosing Eric over me. You're dating." I nodded my head at all of his questions, even though they were posed as statements. He stood up too then, pacing at the other side of the table and I couldn't help but keep one eye on him, I just couldn't turn my back on an angry vampire. The words he said next cut me to the quick but I couldn't let it show. "You know he likes his woman, and men for that matter. He never keeps the same person around for long, he doesn't have friends. He doesn't have partners. He was walking feedbags that are only good for two things."

The only reaction I allowed myself was a long blink to help hold back the tears that were beginning to build in my eyes. That blink was all the time it took for him to cross the kitchen and stand in front of me, putting his hands on my shoulders to hold me in place. Then he leaned in close to me, not touching, and then he began to sniff, deep and slow, taking in everything he could. He moved his head down low, as low as he could manage without bending at the waist.

"You smell like him, he's all over you. You had sex with him." His eyes flashed again with something more than anger. "You were a virgin before Sookie." I don't know how the hell he knew that but I'd had enough hurt at his words, my own anger bubbled to the surface and I stepped back from him, eyes blazing.

"Yes I did and yes I was, even though it's none of your business at all Bill Compton. You should treat me like the lady I am, and you should act like the gentleman you were raised to be."

"Just answer me one thing Sookie. Is he really as good as people say?" He had a strange expression on his face as though this might be his last chance at something.

"Better." I stated whilst crossing my arms in front of my chest and starting him straight in the eyes. He nodded once before turning on his heels quickly. I only knew he'd really gone when I heard the front door slam about two seconds later with a mighty bang.

I was left alone in my kitchen with tears streaming down my cheeks. I'd already assumed what he told me was true but it was different knowing it on my own and having my suspicions spoken aloud by someone else. Eric had eluded to some things himself such as it wasn't just women that through themselves at him and that he indulged them. The same thing was true with the number of people. I knew that with vampires emotions were closely interlinked as they had two forms of lust that some couldn't even distinguish between; sexual and blood lust. It was especially true as they tended to indulge themselves with feeding whilst having sex as it honestly made everything just that bit more powerful.

There was nothing I could do though, well I supposed I could call Eric and demand explanations and promises but that wouldn't work. I was in tears, I'd probably get to hysterics if I had that conversation on top of it and I needed to be rational to talk to him. If I demands now they probably wouldn't be heeded and I'd drive a wedge between us when we'd only been officially dating for two days. I had to wait, calm down and collect myself, think everything through with him before talking. It needed to be face to face too, I couldn't have a serious conversation with him over the phone.

The rest of that night passed by in a haze, I don't really remember much of it apart from not really doing anything at all of significance. So did the next couple of days, still no word from Eric although I'd heard on the grape vine from the people at Merlotte's that there was some trouble going off over at Fangtasia. The worrying thing was that no one seemed to know exactly what trouble the bar was in and Eric hadn't deemed me important enough to inform me.

"Hey sis," Jason greeted me as he walked into the kitchen without having knocked on the front door. He had lived here for nearly fifteen years and I was used to it. He surprised me then, walking up to me, placing a hand on my shoulder before giving me a loving kiss to my cheek.

"Hey Jason, how you feeling?" I didn't turn around as I was busy watching the several pans on the cooker, all containing a different vegetable and one had the gravy.

"I'm good, all healed up too." He went and sat down at the table where the two place mats were already set out.

"That's good. Has Calvin been in touch with the details?" The last time I'd spoken to Jason, which was only last night actually to invite him over for dinner, I'd learned that he'd been talking to Calvin Norris who was the equivalent of a pack master over in Hotshot. As Jason was in this certain predicament because of the werepanthers out there he'd been invited to spend the full moon with them in case he changed. If he did change they'd be able to help him out through the transition, teach him the ropes so to speak and if he didn't he could hide out in one of their homes until sunrise when it would be safe for him to hightail it out of there.

"Yeah, I'm going over there about four hours before sundown on the full moon, it's only a week away now. They'll make sure I'm aware of everything and get me prepared. Calvin says he'll be able to tell for definite as soon as the sun goes down, up until then there's nothing absolutely concrete although he's been warning me to be prepared."

"At least there helping you out. Did you ever find out what happened to Felton?" I was dishing up the food by this point and I couldn't wait to tuck in; beef brisket with mashed potatoes, cabbage, peas, green beans and roast potatoes all smothered in home cooked gravy.

"Yeah I did and you really don't wanna know Sook." I looked across at him, my suspicions were clearly written across my face but I trusted Jason, if he didn't think I'd want to know, I really didn't want to know.

"Okay, now here you go." I placed the massive plate in front of him before getting my own and we tucked into our food. It was good but it just wasn't the same as Gran's and I said as much to Jason.

"Did you know I'm not going to be a full panther even if I do turn?" We'd been silently eating for a few minutes now, only making the odd noise of appreciation.

"What do you mean?" I'd assumed a shifter was a shifter no matter how it came about.

"Yeah, you can only be a full wereanimal if you're born like that. People who are bitten don't get that." I noticed how he wasn't using personal pronouns but being more general. "They turn into a half man half animal thing, you know a bit like those old movies you seen on TV."

"Really?"

"Yeah, it's a bit strange; they managed to show me a picture of one from another pack they used to occasionally hunt with. I don't wanna know how they got the picture but they did. Anyway, I hear you've got yourself a boyfriend."

"No I haven't, I'm dating someone but it's not that stage yet. I thought I told you about that anyway." I put my knife and fork down, too full to eat the rest of it even though I really wanted to.

"Yeah, but I Hoyt told me something that he'd heard from his mom about you having a boyfriend now." He swiped the slice of beef that I'd left off my plate without even asking and I smiled at the gesture, it was what he'd always done.

"You know what this town is like for gossip and that's all that it is; gossip. I'm dating Eric, but that's all. Hell, I haven't even seen him since we went out on that ice skating date."

"Why not?"

"I don't know, we haven't been in touch, it's as much my fault as his because I haven't tried to contact him. People have been saying there's been some trouble over at the bar so I didn't want to disrupt him." I shrugged my shoulders.

"Well if he's dating you he needs to make time for you, especially a vampire, they have all of the time in the world."

"Maybe." I replied noncommittally.

"Perhaps you should swallow it and get in touch cos clearly he doesn't have the balls to do it himself." Jason finally finished his meal, having cleared his plate, and brought his plate over to the sink. I got up myself and set the sink up for washing which I started. Amazing me, Jason picked up the dish towel and stood by my side prepared to dry all the dishes I passed to him.

He stayed for another hour after that and we passed the time watching a stupid television show whilst talking over the top until it got late enough for Jason to be heading home. I knew what I had to do, there was something that I could do to prepare myself for what Jason could be about to go through. I listened to his brain after I asked him a trivial question about what he thought of the one of the female leads and I got nothing, except for a small wave of emotion that told me he had the hots for her. Well, that sealed the deal for me but I couldn't tell Jason, he was still preparing himself and he had the best people possible trying to help him through it. As far as I understood the whole community felt a little guilty about what had happened to Jason under their noses and the ones that didn't, the ones that had known what was going off had been reprimanded so severely they wanted to take care of him.

We said quick goodbyes at the door and he left, letting only a small amount of the freezing night air into my snug home. As soon as he was off the porch I shut the door, locked it and leaned against it to slide to the floor.

"Oh Jason," I whispered sadly as I buried my face into my hands.

To me there is one true significant difference between shifters and humans, or supes in general and humans, when they're in human form and that's their brains. Humans are clear as day to me even though some are what I call broadcasters and I can read them without trying. I've never come across a human brain I couldn't read clearly with a little effort. Supes on the other hand are all a bit blurred around the edges, it strengthens or wanes with the supernatural strength of the supe too, for example vampires are complete blanks to me. With the shifters all I can get is a wave of emotion or intention if I'm no contact with the person whether it's eye contact or physical skin to skin contact. Jason had previously been a bit of a broadcaster to me because I was so familiar with him; I'd grown up with him and we shared blood so I could pick his brain out easily whenever I wanted although I made a habit of not doing that. On the flip side of that it didn't take much to shield myself from Jason's brain because I knew it so well. Now all I could get was the basic wave of emotion, not the tangle of thoughts running through his head that I'd always found before when he was thinking about girls. Jason was going to turn into a werepanther at the next full moon.

I'd got my brother back after his kidnapping but I'd also gained something else and I just didn't know how it was going to change Jason. I did the only thing I could think of doing and the only person who knew all about supernaturals that might actually talk to me properly. I pulled out my mobile and scrolled through my short contacts list until I found it.

"Hello you've reached the voice mail service of Eric Northman, please leave a message after the tone." A computerised voice greeted me after about a dozen rings and I groaned in frustration. But the tone sounded and before I realised what I was doing I was leaving a message.

"Hey, sorry to bother you. Jason's a werepanther, he'll change, I can't hear him anymore." I hung up the phone and threw it to the ground in frustration. At least he would know I'd tried to contact him and it was plain rude if you didn't call someone who left you a message back.

I sighed, letting my head fall back against the door as I collected myself. I couldn't fall apart; Jason would need me more than ever over the next week and this wasn't about me, about how I feel. I got up then and padded into my room where I changed into my pyjamas before crawling into bed, hugging the spare pillow close to my chest so that I didn't feel quite so alone.

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**So what do you think? Will Eric come through for her? Does anyone else want to slap Bill? I know Eric didn't really feature in this at all but this stuff needed to be explained and thanks ericsgirl1 for pointing out that the phone call at the end of the last chapter could have been out of character and stuff. You know I love feedback almost as much as a certain Viking vampire *hint hint* Have a good week guys, I'll be updating at least one story tomorrow. *hugs***


	20. Tears

**Hey guys, **

**How are you? I'm sorry I didn't get to update last night like I thought I would but I did manage to get two updates out tonight. In case you don't know I just posted the fourth chapter of Remember, my over story series. I'm just gunna let you get straight to the update. Charlaine Harris owns the wonderful Southern Vampire Mysteries. **

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The day of the full moon rolled around all too soon and by the time I woke up the day was half gone anyway. I'd worked the closing shift at the bar the night before and since that was a Friday night, I didn't get home until nearly three in the morning, hence my sleeping in until lunch time and not feeling guilty about it. I hadn't heard from Jason properly since the evening that he'd come round for tea and I still hadn't heard anything from Eric despite the rather desperate message I'd left for him.

I was still lounging in bed, not wanting to face the day, when the phone began to ring. Slowly I reached over to grab the one that lived on my bedside table, I didn't know who it was going to be; Eric couldn't call since it was daylight, Sam knew not to bother me as I'd told him most of what had happened and the possibility and Jason wasn't planning on calling me until this evening.

"Hello?" I answered wearily. I was seriously beginning to wish for the time when supernatural things were restricted to horror movies and weren't part of my everyday life. I was almost there but I was still holding out for Eric, even though that part of me was beginning to get smaller with every day that passed without word.

"Hey sis," Jason greeted me sounding surprisingly cheerful. His happiness was slightly infectious though and I found myself sitting up in the bed.

"Hey Jason, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm okay, I'm looking forward to just finding out."

"What are you hoping for?" it was a bit of a risk asking him that, we'd barely talked about what he wanted just the consequences of what would happen either way.

"I think I want to change Sookie, I think I want this for me. I'm fed up of my mundane life; I want something different for me. If this happens I'll have somewhere I belong, no matter what." I could completely understand what he was feeling; I was telepathic and I'd never met a single other telepath, I was completely alone in the world.

"I'll always be here for you Jason." He could be a complete scoundrel yet I still loved him, he was my brother. We were there for each when we most needed it.

"I know and I'll be there for you if you need me but we're adults now, we need to belong."

"I know what you mean."

"So, I'm going over to Hotshot now and I wanted to call you before I got there. I love you Sookie, we're all that we have left now." It was true, we were the only two Stackhouse's left, everyone else had died and we hadn't heard from our cousin in years.

"I love you too Jason, be safe." We didn't bother saying goodbye we simply hung up having said all that we needed to be said.

If Jason did shift he would be a werepanther and he would have a whole new family that would look out for him over in Hotshot. If that happened I would be the only one left. I wanted Jason to be happy, I would be a terrible sister if I didn't, but I couldn't help but feel a little saddened by the thought as well, but it was purely selfish. I banished the thought before it could really ferment in my mind and I got up, shaking my head to clear it completely.

I showered then, taking the time to shave and then to scrub every inch of my body just so I could linger under the luxuriously hot spray and forget about everything go off in the world outside of the four walls of my bathroom. By the time I got out my fingertips had pruned, I was pale pink colour from the heat and I was probably the cleanest I'd been in a while since I'd been washing for so very long. I got dressed in my yoga pants and an old t-shirt that was still left from the week I'd tried the local gym in Bon Temps. It didn't go very well; to be able to exercise properly I'd had to concentrate on what I was doing and that meant lowering my shields. As you can imagine the gym was mainly full of men and most of their thoughts were focused on little old me.

By the time I'd eaten the sun was beginning to get low in the sky, it was by no stretch even twilight but the day was definitely waning away and there wasn't much left of daylight. I had to be safely indoors by night time, just in case a couple of werepanthers had a problem with Jason turning and wanted to use me as leverage, and I didn't have a problem with that. I'd planned an evening and night, of movie marathons complete with junk food galore in an effort to eat away my sorrows with chocolate even though I knew from experience that it didn't work, I wouldn't let it stop me from trying.

I passed the rest of the evening tidying up the house, although it didn't really need it, and doing some laundry that I did need to do if I wanted a complete clean uniform for my next shift at the bar. By the time I was finished the sun had just about sinking below the horizon with only half of the beautiful orange orb visible above the trees. Varying shades of yellows washed across the sky as they mingled with pinks and purples, completing the late evening sky. I made my way outside, with cup of hot chocolate in my hand to watch the sun set on the day.

I padded onto the front porch where my grandmother's old rocking chair still rested even though I hadn't used the chair in about a year, it had been last summer. I settled down into the chair, pulling my legs up to meet my chest and wrapping one arm around them whilst the other rested the cup onto of my right knee. The sweet smell of the cocoa mingled with the cold evening air and I pulled my jumper closer around my chest for warmth.

The clearing around my home was bathed in pale light but the shadows were getting longer and darker by the second as night quickly approached. There was barely any sound as it had grown too dark for birds to be flying and too light for bats to be about, most things were probably bedding down for the night and the nocturnal critters hadn't gotten up for the night yet. They weren't the only nocturnal beasts that I was hoping weren't about tonight. I had enough to consider with all the Were animals that would be out in force tonight.

The crisp air was refreshing to my lungs and I breathed deeply, letting the smell of my home, not just the house but Bon Temps in general linger around me. I could just about hear the distant humming from the washing machine on the back porch. I took a sip of my hot chocolate, closing my eyes to feel the hot liquid seep down my throat to warm my insides.

Everywhere shifters would be getting ready for a night chasing prey and baying at the moon, simply giving over to their animal side in the one night of the month they just had to cut back and relax. I almost envied them; having one night where they had to let go and be themselves no matter what was going on in their lives, they could rely on that change to be consistent in their lives. I almost envied them. I didn't want to change skins once enough, I quite liked being mainly at least, human.

I sank into myself then, just feeling everything inside that made me, well _me. _The way I giggled every time I heard that stupid joke about a neutron in a bar even if I was just saying it in my head, how the hair stood up on the back of my neck when I heard the Only the Good Die Young on the radio as it made me think of all the soldiers out there fighting for their country, how my feet had never walked on another soil more than about a hundred miles from home. I loved the scent of freshly cut grass, the way the sun sparkles on the surface of the water in my parents' old home in the summer and how nice it feels just to bask in the glory of the sun. Those things may have made me simple but they made me who I am and they made me happy.

When I peeked through one eye I found that the sun had set, the last strains of the sun's light were just visible over the tops of the trees even though the star itself had sunk below the horizon. I closed my eyes tightly and wished for summer when the nights would be short, the days hot and the fun that sun brought. It seemed a million miles away from where I was sat in the cold November night but the world would continue to turn and summer would roll around again, I just didn't know what it would bring anymore.

I sunk back into the pair of arms wrapped around my shoulders and I thought of the summer nights; the sky hardly getting truly dark for more than a couple of hours, the way the land retained the heat, it's grasp so tight that it never really got cold, barely even cool. I remembered the sounds of the crickets chirping in the grass that grew too quickly to be cut back down every time it needed doing and the blossoms from the late blooming trees littering the ground so that it seemed to literally shine in the moon. I sighed happily as I laid a hand on one of the arms and turned my head to rest against it. I would have to sit outside in the summer, only then I would be wishing for the virtues of winter when the heat became too much. There was one problem with my thoughts though; I should have been alone, there shouldn't be arms around my shoulders.

"Argh!" I screamed as I tried to pull out of the arms. Tried being the operative word as I didn't manage to escape. A large hand clamped down over my mouth cutting off most of the sound even though my throat still worked. My eyes were large as both hands grasped the restraining hand, pulling at the impossible strength to pull it away.

"Sookie, calm down, it's me. It's me." His words didn't sink in though; all I could hear through my panic was a deep male voice whispering into my ear. "Sookie, it's Eric." He added and the words finally cut through my mind and I understood. My panic left me and I collapsed back against the backrest of the chair, my hands dropped to my lap and I stopped my screaming, not that it had been doing a bit of good. "You're not going to scream?" I shook my head, no, as much as I was able to and as soon as I had the arms let me go.

I immediately shot forward out of the chair to stand with my back against one of the posts of the porch for a little bit of extra support. My vampire was stood just behind the rocking chair looking as dishevelled as I'd ever seen him. His hair was pulled back into a low pony tail at the base of his neck but wisps were escaping the bobble to fan around his handsome face. His button down shirt was creased, of course it was also in the customary black colour, and his jeans were much the same as though he'd been wearing them for hours even though the sun had only just set low enough for him to be about outside.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, thankfully sounding more confident than I actually felt since my heart was pounding in my chest as though it was making a bid for freedom.

"You said you needed me." He shrugged his massive shoulders then decided it was a good move to also retie his hair.

"What? When?" I couldn't remember saying that I needed him, I'd left a message on his voice mail but I'd only been telling him what happened to Jason.

"Your message, you told me about Jason, I knew you'd need someone for tonight and I could hear it in your voice." Well I guess that explained it then, what it didn't explain though was why he hadn't bothered getting in touch with me or why he hadn't been here before now.

"Why now? I haven't heard from you in over a week!" My voice was shrill but I couldn't help it, I had lots of competing emotions in me right now and it seemed that hysterical was about to win out.

"I've been caught up at the bar, I haven't been able to get away, I'm not even supposed to be over here now actually, I had to sneak away."

"What the hell keeps you at your bar solidly for a week?" I folded my arms over my chest and stared at him, letting him see the fire in my eyes that I couldn't put into my voice.

"Lots of things, trust me they were numerous. Can we go inside? It's the full moon and I don't think we should be outside for this." His eyes darted around the tree line, scanning the edges of the clearing for any sign of something.

"Why?"

"I'm not sure if it's safe, it's the full moon, we know that some of the werepanthers could have a bit of a grudge and high emotions only get them more excited."

"Okay." No matter how much I wanted to disagree with him for the sake of disagreeing since I was truly angry with him now that we were face to face, I had to agree that he had good reasoning.

We quickly went in, he held the door open for me, and I headed for the living room where I would be comfortable, I didn't look behind me to check to see if he was following. I settled down in the arm chair, pulling the fleece blanket that had been on the seat over my legs as a chill had set in from being sat outside for quite awhile. He took a seat directly opposite me on the sofa, stretching his long legs out in front of him for a second in a stretch before sitting forward to rest his elbows on his knees.

"I want to apologise." He stuttered slightly around the word as though it was completely foreign coming from his lips, it probably was which actually helped me. "I shouldn't have gone so long with getting in contact with you and I should have found a way to let you know what was happening but I honestly thought I was protecting you. You have to believe that, I was trying to keep you safe, out of harm's way, and I honestly couldn't get over here myself. I'm sorry." He stared directly into my eyes with the last statement, he'd been studying the thread count on the carpet for the rest of it, and I could see the blatant honesty in his eyes.

"Okay," I whispered, still staring back. I couldn't not forgive him but I was still hurting from it, no matter what the reason. "I accept your apology, they should either be heartfelt or extravagant, yours was definitely the first, a bit of the latter. I'm not saying I'm not angry or hurt still, but it helps and if what you're saying is true, then it wasn't your fault."

"It wasn't, but I'll get to that in time. Tell me about Jason." So I did, I told him everything that I could, not necessarily in the chronological order that I'd discovered things but everything he'd said was thrown in their too, including tonight's phone call. Now, don't get me wrong, things weren't just suddenly hunk dory between me and Eric but it was actually the second issue of the night since his apology and since it was the full moon. The moon had still to rise properly and shine out in all its glory in the sky, the stars still weren't twinkling as the sky was only a deep blue colour.

"So he wants to become a werepanther?" His voice was laced with surprise and just a smidgen of contempt though I surmised that more lay beneath the surface.

"Yes, he wants to belong. We're all we have left and I don't think it's enough for Jason anymore. He wants a family I think, not the wife and children kind, just people that he can call his own."

"When do you find out then? If he does belong with the people from Hotshot?"

"Tomorrow morning I guess, although I already know, he has the brain pattern of shifter so it's set in stone for me, I've never been wrong." I shrugged slightly before settling back down to hug my knees tightly to my chest. Eric had relaxed back into the sofa as well while I'd been talking, one of his arms was resting along the back of the sofa and his feet, he'd taken his shoes off, were resting on the shelf underneath the coffee table.

"I'll stay here as long as you need me tonight, I'll be here when you find out." He offered me a smile with his fangs fully retracted and I smiled back, he may have dropped off of the face of the earth for a week but he'd pulled through for me in the end.

"Thank-you. Why couldn't you be here before though? I needed someone the night I found out." My gaze was cast downward, strangely I was staring at his sock clad feet resting between the books I kept on the table, but I flickered up to look at him, finding his bright blue eyes looking back directly at me.

"I'm sorry about that, believe me."

"I know." I whispered.

"I had a visitor, that's why Pam called the last night I was here; she got word at the bar. We were paid a visit by the Queen of Louisiana; she's still at the bar." I didn't get the impression a royal visit was the same as the ones I'd seen on television where the monarch in question walked or rode past a crowd and waved slowly at them with a smile plastered across their face. "She wanted a holiday apparently and she chose Shreveport to take it." I raised my eyebrows at that, I'd never heard of anyone taking a holiday around here, we didn't have that much to offer. "I don't believe it either but I can't just ask her out right, even though she is younger than me." So he was more powerful than the Queen that was an interesting revelation.

"I've managed to discover that she's in debt, quite severely, so she's in desperate need of money which is what she's wanting from the bar. We're pretty much the most profitable business within her area, she's been taking a very close look at our books so I've had to be there. I've been watched like a hawk, questioned and quizzed all week. When I got your message I knew I had to get over here but I knew I'd likely only be able to do it once."

"So how did you do it?" He gave me another smile and there was a devious glint in his eyes.

"I waited until the vampires that were essentially my guards, ridiculous they were barely three hundred added together, went to ground and I ran to a safe holding near here. I came here at nightfall. Before you ask," he chuckled, it was the first one I'd heard and it sounded very, very good after all of this time. "I flew here, landed around back and heard the washing machine so I went there; when I couldn't see you there I went through the house to the front porch." That certainly explained why I hadn't seen him arrive.

"What happens when you get back?" My legs stretched down and my hands rested by my side.

"I'm not sure, I'll have an angry Queen I imagine but it depends on how much she knows. She can't do much to me physically, I'm much stronger and a better fighter, but she has the right to take material possessions, money and such. I shall just face her wrath." He shrugged as though it was nothing facing an angry vampire queen when it really wasn't, no matter how much weaker she was physically she still had power over him.

I got up from my chair and sat next to him on the sofa. He just looked at me, not expecting a thing which was the final straw in my decision. I leant forward quickly and threw my arms around his neck, burying my face into the crook there and I squeezed. After a split second of slight indecision his arms wrapped around me in return, holding me to his chest. He picked me up with his arms to pull me onto his lap where he tucked my head underneath his chin to hold me close.

"Why were you trying to keep me from the Queen's attention? Surely she has enough humans."

"She does but you're not just a standard human are you?" His grip tightened for a couple of seconds, letting me feel all the muscles working within his body to hold me close. It was very nice to put it lightly. "If she found out about you she would exploit you I imagine, sell the use of your talent to other vampires."

"How do you know that?"

"Because it was an idea of my own when I first met you, I wouldn't do it now though, now that I know you. It's risky and dangerous; I couldn't put your life in danger." I couldn't be sure but I thought he placed a sweet kiss to the top of my head after I'd shivered at his first statement.

A deathly howl broke through the silence that surrounded us and my gaze darted to the window where the curtains were open revealing the full moon shining bright. I gulped back, I no longer had just a brother and nothing would be the same again. "I got you." He whispered, stroking my hair back from my face and tucking it behind my ear. For a vampire he sure could do sweet and gentle well. "That's a wolf, it can't be Jason." I nodded mutely in acceptance of his statement, it couldn't be Jason but he was out there somewhere.

The blood curdling howl reminded me about another question regarding blood that I had. "What did you do for blood?" I asked quietly, not entirely sure if wanted the answer. I'd pretty much only just gotten him back; or rather I'd only just truly accepted his apology, understanding his behaviour.

"You may want to sit up properly for this." That sounded ominous so I quickly extracted myself from his arms and sat at the opposite end of the sofa with my legs crossed underneath me. "I mainly survived on synthetic blood, I'm so old that I don't need much blood to keep strong. A bottle of the synthetic stuff is more than enough but I did feed on a young man at one point."

"What do you mean? Did you have sex with him?" From what I understood with vampires, unless it was a nonstandard feed they took blood during sex to heighten the experience for both partners.

"No, I didn't have sex with him although he wanted to. I took it from his wrist too, he was just stood beside me. The queen grew suspicious of me drinking only synthetic so I had to drink or tell her about you." I nodded again, unable to form a verbal response because I didn't know entirely what I was thinking.

In some respects it was like cheating on me and weakening what we had, whatever that was at the minute. He'd taken blood from me and when he'd done it we'd been having sex, I'd taken blood from him once when I needed to heal quickly and we'd ended up nearly having sex. The two different lusts got so mixed up it was hard for vampires to distinguish between the two and try as they might it was difficult to keep the two completely separate. I sat still as I thought, eyes pointing towards him but not really seeing him I was so deep within my own consciousness.

"Just the one time?" I asked finally.

"Yes." I stayed silent again, I couldn't say I was okay with it because I wasn't although I did believe him when he explained the situation it didn't change the overall outcome. "Sookie." His tone was different, no longer soft. Life flickered back into my eyes and I saw him once again but he wasn't looking at me, he was staring straight at the window. I turned to see what had him so motionless.

A pair of bright green eyes were staring at us through the window, the face pressed up against the glass but there was something surprisingly human in those eyes, intelligence too superior for a pure animal. They were cat eyes though unmistakably. I swallowed audibly and the next thing I knew Eric's hand was resting next to mine, open in invitation. I grabbed it tightly, squeezing with all my might as I kept my eyes staring back at the creature. It pushed off of the glass after another second and I saw its true face. An elongated panther with too long fur everywhere but around its muzzle, the whiskers were brilliantly white like I hadn't seen on any of the others. The mouth that was hanging open revealed teeth that were smaller and a shape that wasn't as rounded as the others. It glanced back once from where it was stood, I couldn't see its body, and then it blinked and I couldn't see anything of it at all.

"Jason." I whimpered as fresh tears spilled from my eyes even though I thought I'd cried myself out about this days ago. Before I knew what was happening I was sat back on Eric's lap with his arms wrapped around me as he held me tightly to his chest. It was his shirt that I was gripping onto as sobs for what I'd lost racked my body and sent me quivering.

"Sh, I've got you." He whispered repeatedly, kissing the top of my head and cheeks. Every few seconds his hands would reach up to wipe away the tears from my eyes or to stroke my cheek. I just sat there and grieved for the brother I'd lost in a way; he may still be here but he wouldn't ever be the same. He'd found a way to tell me though and that, in a very strange way, meant a lot to me.

I wasn't sure when but when the sobs quietened down until I was tearing up silently Eric scooped me up and carried my into the bedroom where he placed me under the covers and crawled in behind me. He folded his long frame up around me after pulling off my jumper leaving me in the t-shirt. One of his legs rested on top of mine and one of his arms copied mine so that as much as his flesh was on me as possible, making his cool skin soothe my heated body. All the while he whispered things in my ear in a language I couldn't understand. He'd long since given up on shushing me, instead he let me cry, just holding me while I did so. It was long after I'd been placed in bed that a tiredness only achieved from emotional exhaustion over came me and I knew I wouldn't be able to resist it.

"Wake me up before you go, we need to talk more." I whispered, not bothering to open my eyes; it was easier to keep my unshed tears inside this way.

"I know. Now sleep." His cool lips placed an open mouthed kiss on the back of my neck and it was the last thing I remembered before falling into the deep blackness of exhausted, dreamless sleep.

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**So what did you think? What do you think she's going to tell him? I love feedback as you know so make me happy! Thanks for reading guys. *hugs***


	21. Complication

**Hey guys,**

**How are you all? Thanks for all the lovely reviews from the last chapter and since I last updated in general. I want to address a few problems that I've noticed cropping up in them; a few of you guys seem to have a problem with the word 'whilst', I've never known this before. Is it an American thing? Cos I've always used it in my writing and I've never had a question about it from my teachers and I did A level English language. Anyway, this chapter doesn't contain it once :) **** see I've been trying. I can't promise it will stay like that a 100% of the time but I'm trying to cut back. Hope this is better for ya. Anywho, Charlaine Harris owns the wonderful Southern Vampire Mysteries. **

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I began dreaming of cool lips against mine with teeth lightly teasing my lips and hands stroking my hair back. The lips were tender but incessant in their movements, deepening the kiss as his mouth opened to allow his tongue access. I responded with pleasure, kissing him back rougher than what he was doing. My tongue traced around hard, sharp fangs and just as I was going to lean up into his body when he pulled back. My eyes flickered open and I found a pair of sparkling blue eyes gazing down at me from only a few inches away. There was a small smile tweaking the corners of his mouth. I really couldn't be angry at waking up like that even though I was still shattered.

"Hi." I whispered causing his half smile to broaden into a very toothy grin.

"Hello lover."

"What time is it?" He leaned back onto the mattress so that he was no longer above me but lying on his side next to me, impossibly close.

"There's about an hour and a half until dawn." One of his hands moved to my stomach where he pushed up my shirt slightly so that he could trace light patterns on my skin raising little goose bumps. I rolled over then, wrapping my arm around his waist so that I could snuggle into his hard chest which he gladly encouraged. There was still a niggling thought at the back of mind though about what I'd discovered earlier, the thought of him taking blood from someone else didn't sit well in my stomach even though we hadn't been together long.

"When will I see you again?" I asked quietly; if I knew the answer to this question I'd be able to make a better plan forward.

"I'm not sure, the Queen is supposed to be leaving in two nights, not including this one, so four nights at the most. I may be needed to help with the damage she's created." He placed a light kiss on the top of my head and pulled me into his chest with the arm that was wrapped around my shoulders.

"Is she really as bad as you say?" Vampires didn't have a tendency to exaggerate but it had been known and Queen sounded a little unbelievably sadistic even for a member of the undead. It was a little difficult for me to believe since I now knew she was much younger than Eric, in power terms he didn't have to stand for anything she threw at him.

"Worse; she has at least a little restraint when it comes to my area, she's powerful in the state but she's not stupid enough to think that she can fully control me. I find it easier to placate her." I felt his large shoulders shrug underneath me; this was a nice, safe place to be.

"You're older than her, why don't you take over her job or something?" I didn't know how vampires volleyed for their place within the hierarchy but it seemed like a reasonable idea, well he wouldn't have to put up with anything from her anymore.

"I don't want to be king, I'm happy being sheriff of this area. Being a king, or queen, is risky and to take the place I would have to fight for it because she certainly won't give up the crown willingly. I'd rather put up with being an underling, usually she tends to leave me alone as she knows I'm more than capable of running things without guidance."

"Okay." I couldn't think of anything else to say to that. "So four nights?"

"Yes, why?"

"I don't want you to take blood from anyone else and I don't want you to sleep with anyone else." I spoke quietly, well aware that I could be treading on thin ice.

"I understand. I'm truly sorry for what happened." His voice was genuine and it was accompanied by another kiss, this time to my forehead. "I haven't been with anyone since before you accompanied me to the party at Fangtasia; I didn't want to break that either." It was painful thinking of him with someone else even though I knew he must have had more partners than I could probably imagine but I knew he meant well with his words. I trusted him, I really did as he'd helped me through so much recently and on the night I'd really needed him he'd pulled through for me.

"When do you need more blood?" I hoped he understood I wasn't talking synthetic.

"Physically I can survive on synthetic for the rest of my existence. Lover, why are you asking?" The way he whispered 'lover' was like it was devilish dirty little secret between us and I was the only one he would ever refer to by the name. I loved it.

"I was wondering if you needed some tonight." I suddenly found myself flat on my back with Eric hovering above me, his hands holding my face so that I was looking directly into his eyes. My heart began to race in my chest as my breathing became shallower due to my anticipation.

"Sookie, you are not giving me blood because I 'need' it." He didn't use air quotes but his tone emphasised the word. "I'm not injured, I'm not weak, I can survive quite easily on synthetic." I nodded my head in understanding as much as I was able to. A little smile broke out on his lips. "Besides, we don't have enough time." My stomach flip flopped in response and I held my breath. "When we're good and we can spend some time together." He didn't say he promise but I could read it in his bright eyes.

With his eyes looking at me intently he leaned down, never breaking eye contact, he placed his lips over mine and simply waited. I last about a second before my eyelids fluttered shut so that I could kiss him. My hands made their way up to twist into his hair, my legs wrapped around his waist pulling him closer to me and he began to move too. Our lips moved with fervour, no longer tender like when I'd first awoken and his hands slid up my face so that he could latch onto my hair, tugging slightly. His fangs had run down; I could feel them pressing into my bottom lip, teasing with their pressure as he threatened to break through my skin. Just as my will was breaking, about to beg him for more not entirely what form of more I wanted at the minute, he pulled back. The cocky grin on his face did not help my exasperation of him pulling away, again.

"We still don't have enough time Sookie. I have to go as I will need to be at the bar at first dark later today. When you're ready lover." His hands were back to cupping my face gently and his last word was accompanied by an open mouthed kiss to my lips. Sadly he pulled back before I could even think about responding. It did help that I knew I was affecting him as much as he was affecting me; his fangs were still elongated, his eyes were hooded and there a gloriously hard erection was pressed into me, just to the side of where I really wanted the pressure.

He pushed back from my body so that he was kneeling between my knees and I could see him properly; long hair mussed and clothing dishevelled. If I didn't know better I'd say he'd just picked his clothing off of the floor after a night of pleasure. At that moment I really wanted it to be the case but the more I looked at him the more the real reasons came to the forefront of my mind. My bedroom curtains were still open letting the light from the low moon spill into the room, allowing me to see him clearly. That also reminded me of why exactly he was here tonight.

"The night's almost over, I'd stay if I could lover, but I really can't, believe me on that."

"I do."

"Be strong, your brother will probably need you. Most shifters are already crashing somewhere by this point, especially the weaker ones. I imagine you're perfectly safe now though don't go outside until full light. Text my number if you need anything, I may not be able to talk but I think I'll be able to manage that for a few nights." He smiled again and I had the strange image of watching his fangs retract although I doubt that had been his intention. He got off of the bed and I slowly followed him so that I could say goodbye at the door.

"Eric?" He was already at the door to my bedroom but he turned around to see what I wanted, a questioning expression on his handsome face.

I waited to speak until I was only about a foot away from him. "You know I'll be completely faithful to you don't you? I couldn't do it and it's only right too since I've asked it of you." I spoke in a rush trying to get all my words out as quickly as possible so that I wouldn't get too embarrassed.

"I know." He quickly reached out to grab my hand and pulled me down the hallway to the front door where he tugged me into his chest, his arms immediately wrapping around me. I took a deep breath, committing his scent to memory and feeling a lot better about the entire situation than I had been only a few hours ago. He was leaving again, I wasn't entirely sure when I would next see him yet I still felt more optimistic that perhaps all the changes taking place weren't all for the worse. "I'll see you soon lover." He gave me an extra squeeze then he was gone, just the breeze against my face really showing me the speed that he'd left by, shooting into the sky to fly back to wherever his safe place was.

I locked the door behind, making sure that I dropped the deadbolt into place, and padded back into my bedroom. I could be wrong but I'm pretty sure I was asleep before my head hit the pillow.

To say I woke up groggily in the morning would be a severe understatement. Once again I was roused out of a lovely dream of a certain blond sex good, all innocent, by the shrill ringing of the house phone. The cold air of my room begged me to stay snuggled up underneath the duvet and I hated to move so it was only one arm that snuck out to pick up the receiver. My eyes never opened more than half way.

"Hello?" My voice was thick, full of sleep.

"Hey Chere," Sam's cheerful voice greeted me, how the hell he managed that I didn't know. He was a shifter so he would have been out running through the trees in his canine form last night, probably only getting back about the time that Eric had left even though he was quite powerful being a full shifter. A glance at the clock told me that it was much later than I'd originally thought and he would have had chance for as much sleep as he normally would since he run the bar.

"Hi Sam," I was trying hard to disguise the fact that I'd just woken up; I didn't want him feeling bad about it.

"You okay? I hope I didn't wake you up." So I'd failed on that count.

"I'm fine Sam and don't worry about it, I should already be up anyway."

"I was wondering if you could come in an hour early today, I'm having a late delivery and I need to sort some stuff out in the basement." Although Merlotte's had popular stock stored in a back storeroom just off of the staff area of the bar we kept bulk stock, over flow and our less frequently used stock down underneath the bar to save on space. The bar was one of the few buildings in the area that actually had a basement. The last time I'd been down there was just before Jason had gone missing and it had been a completely, utter tip. "It's double pay since it's over time." I had the inkling of suspicion that it was more than just a helping hand he wanted; he'd been looking out for me even more than usual since he'd heard about Jason's attack by the werepanthers.

"Sure Sam, that's no problem. I'll see you soon."

"Thanks Sook, see you later." We both hung up and I was left completely alone to face the cold, almost noon air of my bedroom. I shuck my head to clear the last hints of sleep from it before getting up to make a dash for the bathroom where I quickly got underneath the hot spray of the shower.

An hour later I was just on my way out of the door to my little old car when my mobile phone rang. I noticed just as I was about to answer it that I also had a text message that I'd never heard arriving. Putting that to the back of my mind I answered my brother's number.

"Hello." I stated cautiously as I had no idea what to expect in terms of his reaction to last night.

"Hey sis." He sounded tired as though he'd aged to his actual number of years in the course of last night; he'd always been younger than his age before, never sounding tired or even weary.

"Jason, are you okay?" I couldn't stop the question, it was out of my mouth before I'd even realised I was going to ask it.

"Yes, I'm fine. I changed Sookie, I really changed! It was amazing; I can't even begin to explain it but wow." He sounded genuine in his happiness which was a reassuring observation. "I was a panther-man-were thing, but it was still amazing. Did you see me? I came over to the house to see if I could let tell you, you in case you could hear me." He wasn't referring to my ears and it was a big step forward for Jason, he rarely mentioned it and much less frequently did he acknowledge it as the absolute truth. It actually made me a little sorry to think that I couldn't understand a shifter when they were in animal form, it's because the thoughts patterns, brain waves are different.

"I saw you Jason, however I did know before, I didn't think I could tell you though."

"No, it's fine, I thought you might have been able to. I almost asked you a few times but it's something I had to find out on my own. I didn't scare you last night did I?" By this point I'd unlocked my car and had taken my seat behind the steering wheel.

"Not really, I was shocked and I didn't realise it was you at first but I did, I know you didn't mean any harm, you were just letting me know. I had Eric with me anyway."

"He pulled through then?"

"Yeah, we'll be fine. Are you sure you're okay?" The news of his change was still completely alien to me, I was only just beginning to come to terms with everything and I would be as supportive as possible; I would find it much easier to be there for him if I knew he was okay.

"I'm good, I'm going to be staying out in Hotshot for a few more days, I'm staying at Calvin's house. He's going to be teaching me a bit more about being a shifter and what it entails." At least I could trust Calvin to keep a close eye on Jason so that he wouldn't get into any trouble, from the couple of times I'd met him he seemed like a decent enough guy.

"Okay, keep in touch."

"I will Sookie and thanks for everything. I'll speak to you soon." With that he hung up leaving me to drive to work on time and feeling much better about the situation with Jason. That should have cleared two major blots on my list of things to think about but sadly having Jason happy and Eric in my life wasn't the end of the problems. Now I had Eric and the situation with the Queen to worry about. No matter how worried Eric was worried about my safety I wasn't; he wouldn't tell about me of that I was sure which meant she wouldn't find out about me to put me in danger. I was actually in quite a good mood by the time I walked down the outside steps into the basement at the bar where I'd been informed Sam was already taking a stock check.

"Hey Sam," I called out to him as soon as I was down the steps; I couldn't see his strawberry blond halo of wild hair anywhere.

"Hey, I'm over here." He popped up from behind a few kegs of beer in a row to my left, a smile on his face. "How did everything go with Jason?" My suspicions were true about him wanting to talk, this I could handle I just hoped it wouldn't turn to Eric as he'd known something was wrong about the situation I had with my vampire.

"He's a shifter, but I knew that already. He took it well."

"That's good, I didn't come across any of them, I stayed away from that area and from yours just in case." Sam had taken to running through the woods surrounding my home since I'd found out about his dual nature, sometimes he even popped into the house for a little bit and I gave him some potted meat. In dog shape his name was Dean, I just couldn't call him Sam; it was too weird even for me.

"He popped over to let me see him in his animal form." And so we talked, I got everything off my chest, even asking a couple of mundane questions about just shifting such as did it hurt. Apparently it didn't although it tended to be a little gruesome to watch and no one who had seen a shift who wasn't a shifter themselves ever believed that it didn't hurt. I'd made a mental note to myself at that statement to never, ever watch a shift. He was actually better than talking to Eric about it; Sam had firsthand experience with this sort of thing.

The hour passed by very quickly and I'd almost walked all the way to the steps before I remembered something that I'd thought to ask him on the drive over. "Can I do a shift swap?" He nodded his head so I continued. "Four nights, including today, I'm supposed to work but I need the night off, I'll swap for any other day, I'll even pull a double if need be." Doing this like this was a popular thing with all the waitresses and it meant we didn't have to eat into our holiday time unless we were having more than a couple of nights off.

"Sure, I'll let you know when I've organised it. I take it things are back to being good with your boyfriend." I only nodded in response, I'd avoided that conversation for an hour, I wasn't about to get sucked down into now. As soon as I reached the top of the stairs I was ushered into the bar with Charlsie who was arriving for her shift and I was rushed off of my feet for the next four hours, taking me right up to evening.

"Hello?" My phone had rung again, fortunately I'd finished my shift and I was walking back to the car when it did. The lit up screen also served to remind me that I still hadn't checked that text message; I'd clear forgotten about it due to Jason's call.

"Lover." Eric's deep voice greeted me and an instant smile spread across my lips even though he didn't seem happy at all. "Did you get my message?" if I wasn't mistaken he sounded slightly angry, I just had to hope that it wasn't with me too much although I had missed his message.

"No, I didn't hear it when I got it, I'm sorry."

"It's okay, probably better that you didn't actually. We have a problem at the bar." This wasn't good, there was terrible sinking feeling in my stomach, my heart lurched so that it felt like it was now residing in my chest and I had a feeling that he was going to say the Queen had decided to stay longer.

"What is it?" I was now safely sat inside my car with the engine running so that the vents would blow a little bit of heat into the freezing interior.

"The Queen has found out about you, she wants to meet you tomorrow night."

"Shit." I whispered with a lot of feeling; it wasn't what I expected but in a lot of respects it was even worse.

"Exactly."

"What shall we do?" At least I knew he wasn't really angry with me, it was much more likely to be with Sophie Anne.

"You should come to the bar tonight, I'm coming over to collect you now. I'm not at the bar so I won't be long. She won't be expecting this, she'll be thrown off guard and I imagine we can come off better for meeting her earlier. I'll explain more in the car but I will be at your house in about twenty minutes, please be ready." He hung up then without saying goodbye, at least I'd gotten a 'please' out of him which for a vampire meant a lot.

His words sank in quickly and I drove out of the parking lot like a maniac only to fly down the parish roads as fast as my little car was able to go safely. I broke my record for time to get from the bar to home and I used it to my advantage; dashing inside to take a wash with the added time instead of just getting changed. When the wash was finished, I'd needed it after working a heavy shift on top of helping Sam, I pulled on the pair of black skinny jeans I'd worn on my date with Eric, teaming it with a plunging neck thin red sweater I'd bought at Wal Mart to cheer myself up a few days ago. Black pumps completed my look and I hoped dearly that this would be okay; I wanted to look good but for it to also be practical, because I didn't have any time left.

Twenty minutes later, almost to the second after he'd called, Eric walked in my front door. He did knock on the wood but it was as he was entering the house, heading straight for me where I was sat on the stairs waiting for him. My bag which I'd managed to stuff a rather large amount of items since I didn't really know what to expect was sat on my knee.

"Lover." He greeted, stooping down to wrap his arms around me and using the movement to pull my up from the step. His lips found mine quickly and we shared a passionate, yet very quick, kiss before we pulled apart. I was whisked through the door, barely having time to lock it, before I was ushered into the passenger seat of the Aston Martin special edition.

We were already on Hummingbird road by the time I'd caught my breath enough to speak. I somehow managed to recall that I still hadn't checked that damn message so I pulled my phone out from the little pocket on the side of my began to open it up.

_Lover, there is trouble at the bar. The queen knows about you. I shall pick you up half an hour after sunset, please be ready. I will keep you safe_

I suddenly agreed with Eric that not reading the message was a very good thing as it set my heart to racing in my chest.

"How did she find out about me?" I asked weakly, staring straight ahead out of the wind shield.

"I don't know, I have an inkling but nothing definitive. If it's true, he'll pay." I gulped at his ominous words, almost feeling bad for the person that had betrayed me. It would be a small list of suspects though; not many people knew about my telepathy to be able to tell. If someone had told they were a traitorous vampire.

"So what's going to happen tonight?" His hand gripped mine suddenly, pulling my hand from my lap to lace my fingers with his.

"We'll go straight to the bar, she's been staying there with her bodyguard, she's only brought one of her regulars which is a good thing. She'll grant you an audience and we'll sit with her, very formal, very awkward." I almost giggled at his description of a situation being awkward, I hadn't realised it was an emotion that vampires felt as they never showed it. I kept myself in check though. "She'll probably try to gauge your power, roll your mind so stay strong. This doesn't feel right, me asking this, but try and play your telepathy down as much. It's a good thing you can't read vampires." I couldn't agree more with that statement although now it was for slightly different reasons; if I could read a vampire's mind I would quickly be heading the way of the dodo.

"Don't worry, I'll keep everything on the down low, shield." He nodded in my peripheral vision, keeping his own eyes on the road.

"Hopefully she'll be bored and she'll let you go. I'll take you personally although I may not be able to get you back to Bon Temps. The Queen doesn't know where my home is." I nodded in understanding; it probably wouldn't be an ideal situation but I may be spending the day in Eric's house.

"Anything else I need to know?" I gulped down a lump of fear, alas though it only worked to settle into my stomach and set the bats to fluttering there.

"I may be forced to claim you as mine. Please accept it, or you'll put us both in danger." I knew what he was talking about, Bill had pulled a similar stunt on me what felt like years ago but was only in fact weeks. The night Bill had taken me to Fangtasia he'd declared me as his, 'she's mine' he'd stated several times and I'd vehemently hated being labelled as a materialistic possession. I'd even shouted in retaliation at him, which had amused Eric. I could handle it tonight, I would have to; I wouldn't put us in danger. Plus, at least I was connected with Eric now that we were in a relationship.

"Okay." We spent the remaining few minutes in silence, both deep in thought of what was about to come. All too soon we pulled up into the car park of Fangtasia, driving straight into the designated bay that was reserved just for Eric. I noted somewhere in my consciousness that the neon lights that proudly displayed the bar's name weren't lit up.

Seeing my confused expression Eric explained. "She's shut the bar the past couple of nights, extra safety or some other nonsense." The bar wasn't open during the day anyway and although it opened at six o clock year round, at this time of year the sun had safely set by that point. The doors would be safely locked when the queen was sleeping and the bar would be as safe as any house, safer since the place didn't possess a single window.

"Here we go," I muttered under my breath just before Eric opened my door and took my hand, looping it around his arm so that we could walk in together. When we reached the door he gave me a forceful kiss to my forehead.

"I'll keep you safe."

With that we walked into the bar, using the main entrance and what we found shocked me to the core. All the tables and chairs were pushed to the sides of the room, the floor was covered by lavish rugs of real fur and another throne stood proudly in the centre of the room. All of the lights were up revealing the true design of the place, it definitely looked better in the subdued lighting the public saw, but I barely gave a passing thought to that observation. Sat on the throne with her feet resting on a small plush stool was a red haired teenager with skin the palest cream. Her intelligent eyes were staring right at us out of her pretty face with an actual expression of shock clearly written across her features. This must be the lovely Sophie Ann. Even in my thoughts I was being sarcastic; that wasn't a good sign.

What really stopped me in my tracks though was the male vampire sat on a stool beside her, a glass of blood in his hand. He'd stopped part way through his conversation with her to take in our entrance. When his eyes landed on me he raised his glass in a toasting greeting. I felt two emotions bubble to the surface within me; anger and despise. Bill was the traitor who had told the Queen.

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**So what did you think? You know I love reviews almost as much as a certain Viking vampire. You should know that I'm coming towards the end of this story, there isn't that much left of it really. I'm kinda sad about that but Remember is only just starting up if you want to check it out. Thanks for reading. *hugs***


	22. Test

**Hello guys, **

**Welcome to the penultimate chapter of Lost and Found! I hope you like it. Charlaine Harris owns the wonderful Southern Vampire Mysteries. **

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I don't think I'd ever had murderous thoughts but I was sure having them now. If I could kill with my eyes there would be about fifty stakes going through one Mr William Compton round about now, with none piercing his heart until the fiftieth. I seethed at him, internally of course, but I couldn't keep myself from shooting glares at him even while I had a smile plastered on my face, my nervous one, for the Queen who had the most expressive face I've ever seen on a vampire. Anyone who went to my local church would be appalled if they could hear only half of what I was thinking, but there are just some things you don't tell anyone, such as the pleasures I'd encountered with Eric, I doubt anyone at church would be impressed with that either.

Eric picked my hand up off of his arm, lifting our joined hands in the air in a way that also made me take a half step forward. "My Queen, this is Sookie Stackhouse who you requested an audience with, she is my companion." It was an odd word to pick but then I'd be hard pushed to put a suitable label on what we shared too so I kept quiet, still maintaining the brilliant smile that I usually only wore at work. "Miss Stackhouse, this is the Queen of Louisiana, Sophie Anne Leclerq." He actually gave a bow toward the Queen, bending at the waist to an almost forty five degree angle. I had a feeling it was all that he could stomach to give; the Queen seemed satisfied with his respect though as a toothy grin spread across her lips.

Then she shocked me utterly and completely like no other person ever had before. She got up from her throne to reveal the gloriously elegant ball gown that she was wearing; predominantly a silk white with a sweet heart neckline that revealed a flat chest and the bodice was decorated with small beaded blue flowers. The length let it trail down to her ankles where I could just make out her small feet that didn't have shoes but were covered by thick white tights. She couldn't have been more than a teenager when she was changed. She was actually rather pretty if you looked past the psychopathic gleam in her eyes. She proceeded to walk elegantly over to me, her back poker straight like a dancer, until she was only about a foot in front of me and I was looking down at her. Then she rose up onto her toes so that we were eye to eye, she paused for a couple of seconds, staring straight into my blue eyes. She leaned forward, placing her hands on my shoulders lightly and then air kissed both of my cheeks.

My smile flickered but it was firmly back in place by the time she'd pulled away from me, retracting her hands before returning to her throne where she down smoothly. She threw one leg over the arm of the throne, while the other was lightly planted on the floor, letting the yards of fabric stretch the distance between her legs. She winked at me then and I noticed she'd finally stopped smiling although she had one of her fangs still showing without looking like she was doing an Elvis impersonation. Her deep auburn hair was in curls around her face giving her an almost angelic look which was spoilt by the neon sign above her head that screamed vampire. She just wasn't what I had expected of a vampire, any vampire really but especially the Queen of the state. She was one freaky lady although I was probably holding my own in the strange factor with taught smile on my face.

"Chairs." She stated to no one in particular but in only a few seconds, I and Eric were still stood away from her as we hadn't been told to do anything, a massive vampire waddled up with one bag under each arm. He placed them on the ground so that they formed a triangle with the throne and I realised what they weren't just bags, they were bean bag chairs. The vampire who appeared to be only just shy of Eric's height but was much, much bulkier walked away, retreating into the shadows in the back corners of the room. "Please sit." She waved a perfectly manicured hand at the chairs.

Slowly we approached the chairs, neither me nor Eric looking forward to what was about to come to pass. I sat down first, with him holding my hand to steady my so that I could at least attempt a graceful seat. It didn't work though, the last foot I simply plopped down unable to hold myself steady in that contortion. Eric deftly moved his own seat towards mine and sank gracefully down as though he had muscles working in parts of his legs that were impossible. I would later find out that he'd used his levitation ability to ease himself down. Either way it must have been quite a feat to fold his tall frame up to sit that close to the ground. When he was sat I found we were close enough together that the line of our outer thighs were touching, so close that I could feel the coolness of him through my jeans.

"I'm sorry about the situation, if someone," she glanced pointedly at Eric. "Had told me you were coming tonight I would have arranged a more lavish welcome." She didn't have a Southern accent at all, in fact she had one of those voices that didn't really have an accent; most likely from never spending very long in one place. Although in contrast to that Eric still maintained at least part of his accent even after a thousand years.

"Your majesty, please forgive me. I should have called ahead." His voice held barely disguised sarcasm which thankfully went straight over her well groomed head.

"I can't stay mad at you, you're my favourite sheriff!" She gaze her nose a cute wiggle before continuing, this time talking to me again. "What are you?" She asked bluntly surprising me once again. I could tell this was going to be a very long night.

"I'm a bar maid, I work at Merlotte's bar over in Bon Temps, have done for about five years now."

"Merlotte's, you have a shifter for a boss?" She'd paused after saying 'Merlotte's' as though she was thinking, which she must have been because it wasn't common knowledge that Sam was a shifter.

"Yes Sam Merlotte."

"Hmm." She paused again. It was then that I became aware of minds around the edges of the room; three humans in amongst the vampires and they were all thinking despicable thoughts. Two men and a woman, the woman was sat down against the back wall and I could see from her mind that she was staring at me because there I was with my back to her. She was thinking of all the things that she could do to me; kisses, licks, caresses and interspersed with each of these that actually came with full colour images as she was a broadcaster were acts I could only describe as torture. The men were no better except they were thinking similar thoughts about each other and about women in general. I schooled my face, keeping it perfectly straight and not telling of anything that I was experiencing.

"Tell me everything there is to know about you!" She actually clapped her hands together, for all the world looking like a school girl about to be told the hottest new gossip. I could feel the beginnings of a headache creeping into the base of my skull from the tension.

"I grew up in Bon Temps with my parents and older brother, going to live with my grandmother when my parents' died. I still live in that house although my grandmother died a little while ago. I did okay in high school as I test well." I'd never cheated during an exam although I could have; it was just so much easier to concentrate when every mind around me was so intently focused on a single thing. "But I didn't go to college; I helped look after my grandmother and got a job. That about sums me up." I wasn't entirely sure why she wanted to know about my life story, unless she was expecting me to start out with something along the lines of, 'well life as a telepath is pretty boring actually.' That just wasn't going to happen.

"So how did you meet the hunk?" She tilted her head in Eric's direction to indicate who she meant and afterward she gave me the sweetest smile she could manage. With her fangs still elongated it only made her look even creepier. The humans responded to the word hunk; hunk of flesh, hunk of a man, one, the woman, even began reciting lyrics to the 'hunk of tin' song. I clamped down my shields as much as possible while retaining as much brain matter for a reasonable conversation so that she wouldn't respect. I focused on the coolness of Eric sat beside me even though he was thronging with tension. I couldn't let anything show, no matter how it affected me.

"I went to Fangtasia with Bill, looking for any clues about my brother's disappearance, Eric was willing to help." The pressure his leg was applying to my own increased for a split second before returning to what it had been; it was a way of giving me some reassurance without being obvious. At least that's what I believed to think it meant.

"How nice of him, he's not known for his kindness." I easily believed that actually even though he'd shown me so much kindness, going out of his way to help me, giving more than anything I'd ever anticipated from him. I'd known he wasn't going to be the same with his subordinates, he needed to be a true authority figure and he wouldn't take any disrespect. I hadn't thought he would be too cruel though, not more than necessary. "What about Mr Compton here?" Bill, who I'd almost forgotten about as the queen had captured my attention so much, pulled his small stool to join our little circle. The woman started thinking of Bill and I could tell it was a memory she was recalling it was so vivid. It helped that I could also hear, amongst the string of thoughts they were directing at me was that they didn't want to be doing this.

"Bill is my neighbour, he lives across the cemetery from him, and we were friends." I stated, trying not to enunciate the past tense too much. As his face was as stony as ever I couldn't even tell if he'd picked up on it.

"Is it true you were dating him at one point?" She held her hand out the side as she spoke, as though she was holding a wine glass that simply wasn't there.

"No. He asked me out on a few dates awhile ago but I couldn't go for different reasons. He helped me find Jason in return for a date. We've been on one date."

"Deary William, have you been telling fibs?" She tut-ed at him whilst shaking her head from side to side slowly. "So you've chosen the Viking?" I realised why she'd been holding her hand out as the same vampire as earlier walked up and placed a tall, thin wine glass in her hand that was full of blood. I had a bad feeling that it wasn't synthetic blood.

Eric's leg pressing into my own with increased pressure and I took it to me I should agree, and tell the whole truth with this question. He'd been rather silent during the discussion but then again so had Bill. It was probably a vampire rule; don't speak unless spoken to in the presence of the Queen. "Yes I did."

"What have you done with him then?" She leaned forward in her seat, both legs now on the ground. Her elbows rested on her knees, her glass cradled in both hands as she leered at me. My only response was a deep blush that rose in my cheeks and I kept my eyes down cast. I wasn't embarrassed to admit my relationship with Eric, not really anyway, but it was a different matter being asked so brazenly about it. Her response was a high pitched, peeling giggle that was haunting in my ears. I would be hearing that sound for days when it was quiet. "Well then, is he as good as they say?" All three of the people began thinking about Eric then, about his body, his looks, his personality. They were all memories from the past couple of days and one image struck me hard, it was Eric with a young man's wrist latched to his mouth and he was drinking deeply. His eyes had been shut but they flickered open to stare straight ahead at whoever had disturbed him and I saw that there was no emotion there, they were empty. Behind him I could make out the hazy figure of the Queen in another ball gown, a young woman stood in front of her, arms wrapped around Sophie Anne's body. That image hurt for only a split second, until his eyes opened and I knew I'd made the best decision to stay with him.

What the hell was it with vampires asking that question recently? So I responded in exactly the same way as I had when Bill had asked me. "Better." I made my voice stay strong and I stared back into her eyes intently. I knew without having to look at him that there would be a smug grin on Eric's face, as it was his hand snuck onto my leg, his fingers brushing my inner thigh as he let it rest there.

The woman behind me changed her tactic then, she no longer thought of memories of Eric but rather what she wanted to do to him. I watched as though I had dual vision, watching the vampires in front and inside her head, her hands roaming over his naked body while his face was buried in her neck. I'd had enough of this. I decided I had to do something to stop it when I felt the little peel of revulsion in her at the thoughts of being so intimate with a vampire; she'd been told what to think ahead of time.

"I chose Eric. I am his." His hand slid forward until he was at my knee where he squeezed tightly.

"Is this true?" The Queen sat back against the throne, took a sip of her blood then simply handed it over to Bill who took it. He never looked at her though as he was too busy seething at me, not even bothering to attempt to hide the disgust in his eyes.

"Yes, Sookie is mine." Eric stated proudly and he moved his hand to capture mine, lacing our fingers together.

"Excuse me, but why exactly am I here?" I wanted to hit the question head on, there was no point diverting around it, she'd been more than blunt with me at some points. She hadn't mentioned anything about telepathy but she clearly knew otherwise the humans wouldn't be here. I focused on my anger, letting it bubble inside me, boiling in my veins and it took my mind off of the horrible thoughts I could hear. How she'd managed to get three broadcasters in the same room was amazing to me.

The half truth rolled straight off of her lips; she didn't even pause to think. "Bill told me some wonderful things about you and I know that Eric had a special interest in you, the reasoning for that is clear now. I wanted to see if they were true. I think dear old Bill though was mistaken." Relief swept through me and I almost let it show with the relaxing of my muscles but I somehow held it together. Eric's tight grip on my hand, letting his fingertips dig into my flesh slightly certainly helped. She stared at me intently before adding another question. "How do you feel?"

"Honestly? A little put out, I was expecting a quiet night at home and instead I get whisked off here. It was interesting to meet you though." I went with my anger, channelling it and I just hoped I wasn't walking straight into danger although I knew I was skirting the edges.

"So you're not telepathic?" If it had been a human I would have said she blurted it out, but since she was a vampire it was spoken with more grace yet no less urgency.

"No." I stated, staring straight at her. I impressed myself with my ability to lie straight to her face.

"Then you wouldn't mind if I tested it?" I had to keep quiet about the humans in the room, if I even so much as glanced there way she would know. I could tell from her slightly crest fallen expression that she'd already realised I didn't possess a true gift; she was just covering her bases now.

"Not at all." I smiled as sweetly as I could at her. Eric released his grip on my hand slightly, so that it was no longer bone crushing but it still worked as a life line for me.

"Phoebe." She called out, barely raising her voice above the normal level. It worked though; the woman who had been sat behind me was suddenly standing at her side with an expectant look decorating her rather pretty face. I gulped quietly at what I was about to do, but nobody paid any attention to me, all eyes were on Sophie Anne, even mine. "Sit down here on the floor we're just going to do a little experiment, nothing nasty." The girl, Phoebe visibly relaxed and quickly sat on the floor so that she managed to face both me and the Queen. "Sookie, what is this girl's age?"

"Twenty four." I replied after a couple of seconds of thinking which I really didn't need. The number was there shining bright inside her head even though she had been trying to tell me a lie of twenty six to catch me out.

"What is her natural hair colour?" I studied the girl sat before me, taking in the slightly paler roots than her dark brown head which gave her the odd appearance of thick hair. If she'd been a man I would have said she was balding if I'd only gotten a glance at her.

"Light brown."

"Her job?"

"Out of work but she used to work at a salon."

"Why did she get involved with vampires?"

"Her ex-boyfriend enjoyed vampire pleasures; she followed him down and got swallowed into the life."

"I think you've been lying to me little one. If you can answer these questions without being telepathic I would love to hear your explanation." There was a broad grin on Sophie Anne's face and her eyes were alight.

"I ID a lot of people working at Merlotte's, she looks twenty four. She has pale roots, not pale enough for blond but paler than the dark brown of the rest of her hair. She has a manicure which is starting to chip, her hair is professionally dyed as you can see the streaks and highlights, and she has expertly applied make up as though she does it multiple times a day. With the vampires there's a look of disappointment and heartbreak in her eyes, she's down cast and she looks warily at you three."

"What are you?"

"I'm intuitive." I replied. It wasn't a true lie it's just that I was intuitive because I knew how people thought. Since my questions seemed to be over, Phoebe actually got up and scurried into the shadows, I turned to Bill and I let my anger go. "How could you tell someone about me? You're a traitor Bill, I trusted you and I thought you had more respect in you than that. Yet you go and tell lies about our involvement together? I thought you were better than that, I thought there was something good left inside you." I came to the end of my rant and crossed my arms over my chest with a huff. It would have been more impressive if I wasn't still sat in one of those blasted bean bag chairs.

"Eric, is she always this much fun?" There was a giggling lilt to Sophie Anne's voice.

"Oh yes." Eric replied whole heartedly. His hand had returned to resting on my thigh. "Small doses are the best though."

"Hmm, you're probably right, I get bored very easily. For example Bill." Bill turned even paler if that was at all possible, apparently her words were something to be afraid of. His eyes were widened ever so slightly as he turned his gaze from the Queen to Eric, an almost pleading look in his eyes.

"Can I go now?" I asked, breaking the silence that had fallen over us. I was testing my look but she'd found my outburst humorous so I was hoping for a streak.

"Yes, I'm done with you now. I'll be in my rooms, Eric you may leave with her if you wish and I'm leaving Bill in your hands, he has been a severe disappointment." She waved her hand dismissively and both vampires bowed their heads deeply yet remained in their seats until she'd walked elegantly from the room. I heard the heavy click and thud of the door to the back hall way open and then close, presumably as she left.

"Eric, I..." Bill started out immediately and very quietly, we still weren't alone in the bar.

"Don't bother." Eric almost hissed. He got to his feet then, levitating out of the chair to save himself from untangling his limbs and the unpredictable balance that the beans offered. As soon as he was stood her turned and offered me his hand which I gripped tightly and the next thing I knew I was stood beside him since he'd used his strength to pull me up.

Eric rushed us from the room then, my hand once again looped over his arm. My mind told me that Bill was following us but that was the only indication he made no further sound at all. The other vampires in the room didn't move at all, they simply followed us; I could feel their eyes on my back all the way to the main entrance. Eric yanked the door open, possibly even doing some damage to the hinges since there was a terrible screech of metal and he let it swing open, not bothering to hold it for Bill. We didn't pause until he was beside the car. He had to decide what to do with Bill. All I knew was I couldn't bring myself to care at that moment, my rage was still churning over underneath my surface. I could however care about where I went, after tonight I had a few questions and I wanted a big hug more than anything else. I wanted to be with my vampire.

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**So what did you think? You know I love feedback almost as much as a certain Viking vampire. I want to say a really big thank-you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, especially Melody and Kelly who I couldn't give a review reply to. Thanks guys. Quick question, I've just been watching last Sunday's Top Gear rerun and I was wondering, how many of you know what a boffin is? Just interested to know. Thanks. Enjoy the rest of the weekend. *hugs***


	23. Snuggles

**Hello!**

**How are you all? Well, here it is the last chapter of Lost and Found. I've had a lot of fun writing this story in general, and I have ideas for some more so look out for those. I had a surprise visit today from my family from London, they came up to surprise my mum as an early birthday treat so I was hanging out with the family most of the day and at the dog show, which is why I won't be updating Remember until tomorrow. By the way, Lou won second place in the Handsome Hunks category of the local dog show which I took my little cousin to too. Mojo is still a little young for that sort of thing but maybe next year. Anyway, Charlaine Harris owns the wonderful Southern Vampire Mysteries. **

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"Why did you do that Bill?" I growled out before Eric could say anything. I dropped my hand his arm so that I could fold my arms across my chest as I glared stakes at Bill. He was stood near the back of the car where as me and Eric were near the passenger side door. Bill stared back at me and if I wasn't very much mistaken there was a hint of fear in his eyes; he was worried about what I would do to him.

"You didn't give me a chance." He muttered his voice so low that I actually had to lean forward to hear him properly.

"Oh, don't you even try that excuse with me William Compton. I gave you as much chance as I could! I couldn't go out with you before Bill and I gave you the date you requested. It wasn't enough for me though, I didn't feel anything there."

"I suppose you feel _everything_ with the Viking, didn't take him long to get into your pants" His top lip lifted in a half snarl but it was the only emotion on his face; his expression was stony and his eyes were now blank.

"Don't you dare talk to me like that! You will speak to me like the woman that I am." I strode the few paces between us and before I knew what I was doing my hand shot back and I slapped him, hard, across the cheek. I could feel myself shaking with anger at his betrayal. The slap had awoken something inside him though. His eyes lit up with something and his face transformed into that of a beast, a snarl bared his elongated fangs and he leaned towards me. It didn't even boost my ego that there were deep red blood stains between his teeth from my slap. I watched with horror filled eyes as he took a small step toward me, stooping down slowly and I could see the hunger in his eyes.

"Bill." I whispered as confidently as I could, stepping back quickly until my back pressed up against the cold metal of the car.

"Stand down." Eric growled as he stepped in front of me, blocking Bill's view of me with his much more impressive physique. "You won't harm her, she is mine." The words didn't invoke any form of anger from me as they had when Bill has used them, in fact they worked to calm me down, I felt secure knowing that he was protecting me even though I was within a yard of a snarling vampire.

"She barely knows you, she can't have chosen you!" His voice sounded anguished, as though he was hurt and I risked a peak around Eric to see what was happening. He was standing to his full height, which meant he was still looking up at Eric but then again who didn't, and he was no longer snarling although his fangs were still elongated.

"Bill, I chose Eric, I know him better than you think. You have to go." His eyes flickered to me and I could have sworn I saw the red gleam of a tear in the corner of his eyes.

"Bill as your master and Sheriff of Area Five I have rights over you punishment for betrayal. You're fangs will be revoked and you are to stay with Chow until they have grown back." I had the sickening feeling having your fangs revoked was a very gruesome experience and I didn't think staying with Chow would be a holiday camp either.

"Please Eric, without my fangs I can't feed."

"Exactly. You are lucky it's not the stake, it would be if the Queen wasn't here." I didn't understand that piece of information, I made a mental note to ask Eric about it later and find out exactly what revoking fangs meant. I'm not sure how I managed to feel anything but anger towards Bill but I had to acknowledge the growing compassion within me.

"Eric," I whispered quietly, placing my hand on his forearm; he was positively shaking with energy. He turned his face to look at me, his eyes soft, when he felt my skin on his. There were no further words exchanged between us but somehow he understood what I wanted to convey and what's more, he actually complied.

"I've changed my mind. Leave the Area, preferably the state. Do not come back into my territory ever again, never speak to Sookie again, you are to leave her in peace unless she contacts you first." I'm not sure why he was saying that; I never wanted to even look at Bill again, never mind speak to him. "You have until dawn tomorrow night to be gone. I will check." I could see the slight play of emotion on Bill's face as the words sank in.

"But my home is here, I own businesses in the area. My house! My life!"

"Bill, you will go or it's teeth. If you break this promise it's the stake. Leave." His eyebrows rose as he finished his statement, his voice had taken on a deep growling quality, as though he was tempting Bill to question him once again. "Leave." He stated once again, a barely hidden threat in his deep tone. Bill turned towards me then, as though he was going to speak. I didn't even want to say goodbye, not after what he'd just put me through, he simply couldn't have had any good intentions with his actions. "Go. I will not say it again." Bill's face closed up then, and he nodded in acknowledgement. The next second he was gone, barely a movement of the air dictating which way he had disappeared into.

We stared into the night for a few moments, just breathing in the night air, or at least I was, trying to calm down my frazzled nerves and beginning to let go of the tension that had been coursing through me for the past few hours. Eric was the first one to move; he turned around to face me and wrapped me up in his arms so that he could hold me against his chest tightly. "Let's get out of here. We're being watched." He kissed the top of my head, leaning back as it had been tucked underneath his chin. He held the door of the car open for me and then closing it, he still managed to be seat belted into his side before I managed to click my belt into place.

We left the car park quickly but without screeching tires, I assumed because he didn't want anything about our exit to seem too out of place. It was only when we were on the highway, my hand had been clasped in his since we'd left the car park, that I realised we were heading back toward Bon Temps, not to his house. I didn't want to go home. "Eric." I started out, turning my whole body to face him, one leg going half underneath me on the seat.

"Yes lover?" He quirked an eyebrow at me, even giving me a brief glimpse as he took his eyes off of the busy road.

"Can I stay with you tonight? I don't want to be alone." I gave his hand a squeeze to accentuate my point; I needed to be with him.

"Of course. Would you like to go to my house?"

I nodded my head and then realised he probably couldn't see it. "Yes please." He smiled immediately at my words, even going as far as to bring our joined hands up to his lips so he could give an open mouthed kiss to the back of my hand. He got off of the highway at the next exit, entering into a maze of roads that I couldn't have followed even if I was trying. Within a couple of minutes we were back on the same highway heading in the opposite direction, back toward Shreveport. "What did you mean with revoke Bill's fangs?"

"It's a fairly common punishment for vampires, you rip their fangs out so that they can't feed in the conventional way. It's not as effective anymore of course due to the synthetic blood available but it hurts, it's demeaning and it still works. It takes about a month for them to grow back properly, enough for them to be used."

"You were going to do that to Bill?"

"Not personally, not this time. I doubt I would have been able to restrain myself to only take two teeth and not go for another appendage. I have done it before though." I nodded mutely, he wasn't hiding me from what he was capable of which I was thankful for. I shouldn't have been surprised that he'd done things like this before, he was the authority figure and needed to be seen giving punishment to dissuade others and I'd seen him kill a shifter before. I put the thought to the back of my mind, I'm sure many others had said similar things before and been turned into supper, but he wouldn't harm me. "Sookie, I wouldn't ever harm you, I won't let you get hurt. I can be ruthless, almost cruel and I know how to fight but I have respect for women, I have respect for you and humans are defenceless, you should never mistreat people who can't defend themselves." I nodded in appreciation for his settling words because I knew they were true and they helped to calm my nerves. "Just how did you come up with all that stuff to tell the Queen?"

"I watch a lot of Sherlock Holms programmes and I've read a lot of detective stuff." He did something then that I hadn't been expecting; he laughed, full on chuckling on the verge of a deep belly laugh. It was a wonderful sound and I couldn't help but giggling along with him, it was an infectious sound.

"You lover, are hilarious." It could have been taken as an insult, since he was more laughing at me, but the grin on his face and the sparkle in the eye made me take it as the compliment he meant.

"What will the Queen do now?" I asked once I'd sobered up a little.

"She'll stay around for a couple of days I imagine, I'll probably check on her tomorrow evening at some point but she said I could go. I'll take it to means I don't really have to come back until she's gone." He shrugged his shoulders as though going against his Queen was nothing. Now that I'd met the insanity that was within her, I realised just how thoroughly it wasn't nothing.

"What about the bar?"

"I'll open back up fully, say it was being refurbished and throw a party to help make up for lost revenue. She'll probably take some money from the safe but it's trivial." That little statement made me wonder just how much money he actually had but it would be rude to ask.

"Will the Queen ever come back?"

"She has eternity, unless someone puts a stake in her, that would be a good night. I'm sure she'll be back at some point. We could be conveniently in another country if she does." He grinned at me cheekily, waggling his eyebrows so I knew just what we'd be doing if that plan ever came to fruition. "I doubt she'll show such interest in you again, now you're my intuitive partner and there isn't much in that for her. If she hears anything else about your telepathy I'm sure she'll test you again. We'll cross that bridge though if we ever come to it."

We passed the rest of the journey, the whole five minutes of it, in comfortable silence with our hands still clasped together. The car was parked in the garage, next to the Boxster Spyder, and we made our way into the house via the internal garage door which brought us out into the small kitchen. "I'm afraid I don't have any food in to offer you, apart from." He paused to check through the few cupboards and pulled out only one packet. "A packet of biscuits." He smiled at me sheepishly, clearly thinking that he should have something in for situations just like this. It was actually sweeter to me that he wasn't stocked up for human company; it meant he wasn't expecting me to stay overnight with him.

"Why do you have biscuits?" It seemed like such a strange commodity to own.

"I guess the house keeper left them here the last time she was over." He shrugged again before putting the packet on the little breakfast table and slipping off of his coat. I took that as a queue and took my own coat off, giving it to him when he offered out his hand. By the time he'd put them both of hooks I was sat down at the bar with a glass of water in front of me. "What do you feel like doing? As you know, it's not the most human friendly place." He wasn't apologising for that, even though he looked slightly sheepish again, and I didn't expect him to.

"How about we watch some TV? Or a movie." I could do with a good comedy to let go of some of the last remnants of tension in me and I was so tired I wouldn't be able to follow anything more complicated.

"Okay." He picked the glass up from in front of me and I followed him into the living room which I hadn't been in the last time I was here. The room was large, the same as his bedroom, with a flat screen television mounted on the wall and a glass fronted cabinet filled with DVDs and games for the consoles that were also in there. There was a corner sofa starting near the door and wrapping around underneath the window and the centre held a low glass coffee table on top of a fluffy, fur rug. "What would you like?"

"A comedy please, surprise me." He nodded and went over to the cabinet while I went over to the sofa where I settled down, lifting my feet up onto the cushion beside me. He popped the DVD in, grabbed the remote control and settled down on the sofa beside me where he pulled my legs into his laps, his hands instantly beginning to massage my calves. I sighed contentedly, especially when he produced a blanket to wrap around my torso from behind the sofa.

"I noticed you had them at your house behind every seat. I got one picked up for you." I smiled my appreciation and snuggled back down into the cotton, luxuriating in the cool fingertips rubbing patterns on my legs. By the time the opening credits began to roll for Monty Python and the Holy Grail my eyes were beginning to droop. Twenty minutes in and although I was giggling softly my eyes had shut all the way and I had to admit I was concentrating more on the sound of Eric's light chuckles than the film. "Come here."

My eyes snapped open and I saw him patting his chest. Confused, I sat up slowly only to have him gently push my legs off of his lap to the floor. Quick as a flash he spun himself around so that he was sat sideways on the couch and laid back so that he was completely flat with his head resting against a cushion. Once more he patted his chest and understanding dawned on me with a grin on my face. Snuggle time. I sat up fully before leaning down into him, with my back against his chest. I'd only just got comfortable when his hands grasped my waist and he spun me around so that we were face to face, or rather face to chest. I really didn't mind this way and I settled down onto him, burying my nose into the soft material of his t-shirt, sniffing deeply so I could take in his scent. His arms wrapped around me, one around my shoulders whilst the other went around my waist, the blanket was still, miraculously, draped around me and his arms were underneath it. My vampire was a snuggler and I loved it.

It wasn't long before I was completely asleep on him, he made a very comfortably pillow for someone as muscular as him. When I awoke, it was at least an hour later as the movie had finished and a documentary old warriors and fighting styles was playing softly on the television. He wasn't aware that I'd awoken; I was still completely relaxed, my breathing deep and I hadn't moved so I was able to watch him in peace. His eyes were focused intently on the screen and just like any other man I knew the remote control was held firmly in one hand that was hanging off of the edge of the sofa, no longer around me. The weight across my waist told me that I was still being held tightly though. Every so often he would smile at the television with a faraway look in his eyes as though he was remembering something, he probably was, and the smiles were interspersed with little shakes of his head as they got something wrong.

After a few minutes of just watching him I couldn't take it anymore; I just had to kiss him. I tilted my head slowly, hopefully not alerting him to my conscious state, and kissed the bare patch of skin that was revealed on his chest by the v-neck of his t-shirt. He knew I was awake as soon as my lips made contact because his grip tightened around me and his head rolled back as much as possible allowing me better access. I trailed a line of sweet kisses up his neck, pushing down slightly on his chest to get leverage. It wasn't like I could hurt him by the motion so I saw no harm in it. I was only at the corner of his jaw when his head turned impatiently and he captured my lips with his own. His fangs were already run down, I could feel them pressing down against my lips as we kissed, our tongues dancing together almost instantly.

With both hands on my waist he pulled me down his body slightly, I felt the hardness of his gracious plenty already and I couldn't hold in my slight moan as I thought about what was to come. He only moved me a few inches but it was enough for us to kiss more comfortably and he wasted no time in taking advantage of the situation. The man would win awards for kissing if I would ever let him try out in a competition. He had had centuries of time with which to practice and I was sort of grateful for that. After only a few moments I felt like my body was fire; every where his roaming hands touched a trail of goose bumps followed and tight muscles deep in my stomach were glowing embers.

The blanket was shucked from around my shoulders and I took the opportunity to sit up, pulling my shirt over my head as I did so, revealing my black lace bra to him. His deep blue eyes were hazed over with lust and a deeper emotion I didn't want to think too closely about at the minute so I concentrated on the feel of him underneath me. His hands began trailing up my body, starting at my knees. When he hit my thighs his thumbs stretched out, teasing my inner thighs and my centre, then he hit the bare skin of my waist and his fingertips began trailing patterns. His hands worked inwards when he reached my breasts, massaging the sensitive flesh with his whole hands before moving around to caress my back. His fingers expertly unclasped my bra, then pulled the straps down my arms. I actually gasped as the cool air of the room touched my naked breasts and my pert nipples. He didn't give me much time though before his mouth latched onto one breast, his hand massaging the other.

"Lover." He growled at me around my flesh, I could feel the vibrations in his chest against my skin we were pressed so close. His hands worked down my body then, caressing down my back until he came to the waist band of my jeans. That didn't stop him, his adventurous hands snuck underneath the denim and into my pants, squeezing my ass firmly, and digging in his finger tips. With one fluid motion he stood then, supporting my weight with his hands until I wrapped my legs around his waist.

My hands worked their way into his hair, tugging on it as I kept his head to mine, our kisses becoming more aggressive with each passing second. He walked us blindly into his bedroom where we collapsed onto the bed, turning in the air so that he landed on the mattress first with me above him once again. My jeans were unbuttoned and the zipper down before I even realised he'd moved his hand and then they were back to massaging my breasts. I broke out kiss to slither quickly out of my jeans, pulling my socks and pants off along the way too.

"I want you naked." I whispered into his ear as I leaned back down, pressing my centre onto him and getting some much needed friction. It was no longer embers in my stomach but flames licking all along my body inside and out. He growled out a moan in reply and sat up, pushing me along with him. I grasped the bottom of his t-shirt and pulled it roughly over his head. It hadn't even hit the floor by the time my hands were working to get his jeans off. I had to leave his mouth then to get him naked, but I trailed licking kisses down his body, pausing more when I was hovering above his gracious plenty. I didn't kiss; just let my hot breath tease the sensitive flesh. It was the same when I worked my way back up his body after pulling the denim free from his long legs.

My hands continued to roam over him, feeling every hard muscle underneath his skin, loving the way they rippled every time he moved. I hadn't nearly had enough fun teasing his when his strong arms pulled further up his body before pushing me down swiftly, his thrust meeting my hips. The next thing I was aware of was being completely full and my head lolling back in ecstasy as a loud moan escaped from my lips. "Eric." I cried out as my head snapped back up and I began moving my hips back and forth, feeling him fill me up entirely.

With his hands on my hips guiding me and helping me I moved, loving the way he brushed different parts deep inside of me. Moans were a near constant stream from my throat which quickly began to grow hoarse from my growls. My head lolled back as I began to lose control, my movements becoming more hurried and frantic even with his controlling hands.

"Look at me." I snapped my head up to stare into his heavily hooded eyes which were still darkened with desire. He half sat up as I watched and his mouth captured one of my breasts hard enough to leave indentations in my flesh from his teeth, yet avoiding breaking the skin like I wanted so much. I needed him in me, more than what he already was.

"Bite me." I breathed out raggedly and my hands pushed on his head, bringing him in closer. With only a growl for warning he bit down just above my nipple and instantly began sucking deeply. The pressure within me built instantly and I teetered on the edge of oblivion. The movement of my hips became erratic as I lost control of my body. He flung me over, so that I was on my back underneath him without ever breaking contact at either point. He pushed into with energy I couldn't possess and he sent me over the edge fully with no turning back. It was only a second later until he joined me with a loud, guttural grown that was no match for my screams of his name.

Ten minutes later I was laid on my side, my naked body draped over his naked body and I had the duvet tucked snugly around us both. One of his hands was playing with my hair whilst the other was underneath his head acting as an extra pillow. One of my hands was resting on his chest, a finger swirling around the fine splattering of dark blond hairs there. This was one of my favourite past times. I was completely relaxed and content, happy, and I didn't want to give up that feeling for the world. In that moment everything seemed okay, "Lover." Eric breathed with a slight sigh as he shifted ever so slightly so that he was angled more towards me. When I glanced up at him I found his bright blue eyes gazing down at me and smile stretched across his lips. I smiled in return before placing a kiss on his chest, the mirror of where he'd just taken blood from me. I settled back down then, resting my head against his chest once more and revelling in his scent that washed over me; the barest hint of soap which my body had nearly over ridden and something uniquely Eric. I was safe and surprisingly warm snuggled up with my vampire. It might have been the post coital bliss I was bathing in but I had a feeling that things were going to sort themselves out given time. I smiled, gave his chest another kiss, and looked forward to the future.

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**So what did you think? You know I love feedback almost as much as I love a certain Viking vampire. I want to thank everyone who has sent me feedback for this chapter, it really does brighten up my day so make a writer happy! **

**At the end of the last chapter I asked you what Boffin meant and only a few of you knew. A boffin or 'boff' is a word used to describe a very clever person usually in the field of science who tends to love working and knows a lot about very little in there chosen field. As someone said in some feedback, it's very similar to the US usage of Egghead. Which is actually a TV show in the UK. Following this line of thought, do you guys know what the word 'camp' means? According the daily paper the other day it's a very British thing and I'm not referring to anything to do with tents. It's also not an insult, not to me anyway, despite what you might have heard. **

**Anyway. Thanks for reading to the end of my story, it really means a lot that you've stuck around this long to read what I've posted. Thanks guys. *hugs***


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